Motorsport News Issue 349 - November 22-December 5, 2006 by V8 Sleuth

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THE NEWS BEHIND THE NEWS

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No.349 22 November-5 December 2006 Australia $6.50 NZ $8.00 inc GST

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Issue 349 22 November 5 December 2006

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NEWS 4

Hitthe road Jack Dumbrellgoes to PWR for 2007

Briter and Briter Britek ARC program moves in-house

FI controls costs Yes. Ofcourse. Who would doubt that?

W FI's peace deal No more fighting, you twol 12 Johnny Diesel

Flolden Is burning for the U^-Hour

OPINION 25 Motor Mouth

Far Out? No,Farr is ini

26 Box Seat

Ant Davidson kept the FI faith

28 Opinion

A1 Team,Astras and some Pricing

82 Talk Converter

Michaelleaves big shoes to fill

\ 2:3

30 Five Minutes with Jimmie Johnson 32 Five Minutes With Will Power 34 Much more than 98 Seconds fEXCLUSIVE:RussellIngallspeaks up on being Champion, J2006 and what he thinks will happen nextseason 40 Blue Bloods Comparing notes with Ford's Euro and Aussie bosses 44 WhapIgoes the diesel How a bunch ofpoms burned the salt at Bonneville 46 I'll take'Odd Scandanavian spellings'for 100, thanks Tony Why Alx Danieisson is one Swede you need to remember 48 And we thought theyjust made those footballs Behind the doors ofSherrin Motorsport

RACE so Tandermania Gartjulid it again in Tassie -and Rick leads the points Fprdi-2 at Rally NZ-and Rossi gets the headlines

NATIONAL ^INTERNATIONAL

1 \0 Rally Bikes 58 International 62 Speedway 66 Drag Racing 70 NationalScene

TRADE - 76 Race Shop/Industry News r 79 Classifieds

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Walkinshaw backs young guns

WALKINSHAW Performance will begin a renewed youth push for Holden in 2007. Young Carrera Cup standout David Reynolds and Formula Forder Taz Douglas are the two men set to be Holden's new kids on the block. It is believed that the pair will sign with Walkinshaw Performance, and wili both be employed by the Clayton-based group. It is unclear yet how Holden will utilise the pair's services on the race track.There is a chance that Toll HSV may enter a Fujitsu V8 Series car for one or both ofthem.Otherwise, they would be used in a testing role, with the opportunity to be involved as endurance drivers. Reynolds has been earmarked by The General as a future star after his impressive test with theToli HSV team back in September. While a main series drive would be the best outcome for him, Reynolds would definitely

compete in the Fujitsu V8 Series or Carrera Cup next year if a main series ride isn't found. Away from the track, Reynolds will work within Walkinshaw's marketing department. Reynolds won the 2004 Australian Formula Ford Championship and currently sits third in the WPS Carrera Cup. Dougias is just points away from wrapping up the Victorian Formula Ford Championship. He has worked as a part-time mechanic with Toll HSV this year, and along with Tim Slade and Ben Clucas, he was also part of the September Toll test at Winton. Holden Motorsport manager Simon McNamara said that he expected an announcement regarding Reynolds and Douglas early new year, but believed the time was right to start to groom the next wave of talent. "We are considering the future,"

Lowndes pleads guilty CRAIG Lowndes has pleaded guilty to'bringing motorsport into disrepute' with his comments after the final V8 Supercar race at the Gold Coast Indy meeting. After initially electing to take the matter to a CAMS Stewards Hearing on the Friday morning of Symmons Plains, Lowndes and his team agreed a pleabargain, which closed the matter off two days before the hearing was due to take place. With the weekend being 4

a crucial one in the 2006 V8 Supercar championship chase,team boss Roland Dane initiated a'what can we do'approach to series IPO Peter Wollerman to 'avoid all the stress and diversion of dealing with it on a race weekend, when we had other things to do." In the end, in return for the removal oftheTriple 8 team from the charge sheet, and a statement of quilt from Lowndes, Craig paid a $15,000 fine ($5000 suspended) and that was that.

McNamara said. "There are a couple blokes out there who we gave a run,and they proved themselves to be half OK. "The more miles they get,the better. I can certainly see one of these guys going ail the way." McNamara also told MNews that the the risk of taking youth over experience can be balanced out with the right talent. "There is a risk there that they won't have the V8 race experience, but on the flipside, they could have that approach that they'll just get out there and have a crack. "I really enjoy watching guys have a dip. You have to weigh up the risk against guys who are going to go out and give it a go." Reynolds and Douglas will next drive a Holden V8 Supercar at Phillip island during Toll HSV's twoday corporate ride day after the final round of the championship. -GRANT ROWLEY

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Have a dip: David Reynolds,above, and Taz Douglas, below.

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Opinion:It shouldn't rest there It's quite rare for an opinion expressed in these pages to bring out the response our(MNews #348 p29 -'Has Mosley changed the blame game?') discussion on what does or doesn't constitute 'bringing a sport into disrepute'did. But, on this occasion, the number of pit lane residents who fronted at Symmons to express support for the concept that simply questioning a decision is not bringing anything into disrepute, was amazing. Despite the fact that this matter didn't reach the judiciary, it shouldn't rest there. Off-season,the rulemakers need to create something more appropriate for the crime. How about"drivers will never, never, never, ever criticise a decision of the Stewards or race officials. because they are never, ever wrong."Penalty? How about... standing in the corner? -CHRIS LAMBDEN motorsport news

NEWS %

DumbrelltojoinPWR qrai rowjey

EXPECT to see Paul Dumbrell suit up with PWR Racing in 2007. Dumbrell is set to partner Cameron McConville in the Supercheap Auto-backed Commodore VEs, replacing Tasman-bound Greg Murphy. Dumbrell is set to leave Perkins Engineering after four turbulent seasons with the Victorian-based team. With 58 starts under his belt, the 24 year-old is no rookie V8 Supercar driver anymore. Dumbrell sits 12th in this year's championship after a number of standout drives, including a breakout weekend at Winton. His best career result in V8 Supercar is fifth. Dumbrell made his V8 Supercar debut at Symmons Plains in 1999 and has contested each endurance season since. He won the 2002 Konica V8 Supercar Series with Independent Race Cars.

Ingall:Timefor Enforcement

RUSSELL ingall is planning some Enforcement in 2007 in a bid to return to the top of V8 Supercar racing. With two rounds remaining in the 2006 championship Ingall has virtually conceded his current title but says that he has clear plans to win again. But with a new points system in place for next year changes the'collect points'mode of racing that served his well last year - and which is working for Rick Kelly, who is still to win a round in 2006. "There's no doubt,it will change and it will reward passing,and people will be braver out there,"says Ingall."We will have to change that part of the plan. "But... you will still need to finish races. If you hang it on the wall,there goes the championship." Ingall has also pointed out that he was criticised by Garth Tander and other drivers at the end of last season and wonders if Kelly will get similar comments based on this year's performances.

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But it is designs on another title that has invigorated the SBR driver. "I have more championships in me. I can win another championship. I would not be.in this game if I did not believe that.Some drivers you talk to,funnily enough,actually hesitate about winning a championship.To me, I know I will win another one. Maybe I don't know when,where and who with, but I feel in myself that I can win another championship.While I have that feeling, there are no thoughts of doing anything else." Ingall has also told Motorsport News of his ambitions to race in some of the international endurance classics and how he will feel after the final race of the season with #1 on the door of his Caltex Havoline Falcon. "Come that last race at Phillip Island,that is going to be a sad day for me,taking that number 1 offthe car is going to be a difficult situation. I think that it is only going to spur me on to try to get it back again." For more on Ingall,see pages 34-38

Ford's ARC program sorted

The MNews TV guide IF you are planning on watching the V8 Supercar action live from Bahrain, starting grinding the coffee beans and make sure that the neighbours are an understanding lot. Channel 10 will do its first telecast from the Middle East starting at 11:35pm [AEDT]this Friday,followed by a 10:40pm timeslot for Saturday. And in case you're not keen on staying up late, a review will air on Sunday at 2:30pm.

BRITEK Motorsport is preparing to build two Super 2000 Ford Fiestas to represent the Blue Oval in next year's Australian Rally Championship. The AWD, naturally-aspirated cars will be constructed over the summer in Britek's Melbourne workshop, with a team source admitting to MNews that there is a "big job ahead"to get the cars ready forthe opening round of the championship in WA at the end of March. The project will be undertaken with some technical assistance from Ford Europe and M-Sport, the UK-based company that handles Ford's WRC program.The nature of the relationship between the various operations in Europe and Australia were among the items on the agenda when Ford Europe boss Jost Capito visited Australia for the WRC in Perth and V8 round in Tasmania. MNews can also confirm that Michael Guest will be joined in the driving line-up by Darren Windus,

who has spent the past few seasons contesting the ARC in a privateer Subaru. Ford's decision to compete with a Fiesta may seem surprising given that the Focus has spearheaded the company's frontline rally efforts in recent years. Flowever the Fiesta has a competition history of its own in Super 1600,the series from which Super 2000 was derived. It also fits in with the recent announcement that Ford will introduce the Fiesta XR4 to the Australian market in 2007. The Fiesta is the second S2000-spec car to be confirmed for the ARC in 2007, with a Toyota Corolla version currently under construction at Neal Bates Motorsport in Canberra. Ford re-entered the ARC this year with one selfbuilt 2.5 litre, naturally-aspirated rear-wheel-drive Focus that drew plaudits for its engine note, but fell somewhat short of the mark in most other regards. -MARKGLENDENNING

■ Another piece of Channel 7'sV8 Supercar broadcast puzzle bas fallen into place. One of the network's pitlane commentators for is V8 Supercar broadcasts will be Daniel Gibson,the well-known presenter who is seen in Canberra and surrounding regions on Seven affiliate Prime TV. ■ Speaking of the telly, recent media rumours that Matty White is heading back to Network ^0 to replace some of the outgoing talent(Lee Diffey to Speed, Ryan Phelan to ESPN)appear wide of the mark. According to White, "I am under contract to Seven until 2008"so look for his face somewhere near a V8 Supercar next year. ■ Darren Manning will return to compete in the IndyCar Series next year. The Brit has been named by A.J. Foyt to race the famed #14 entry in the series, which means that the former Ganassi driver will have been unemployed in the US series for around 18 months. ■ NASCAR star Robbie Gordon has won his third Baja 1000 off-road title with co-driver Andy McMiilin In Gordon's Chevrolet Trophy Truck. ■ Team Australia has signed a multi-year contract with Simona De Silvestro for the 2007 Cooper Tires Presents the Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda. "We are very happy to have Simona on board with us for next season,"said Team Australia Co-Owner Walker. "I was able to watch her compete in the Formula BMW USA races this year and was very impressed with her talent and then we tested Simona at MSR in Houston where she did well. The 18-year-old Swiss finished fourth in this year's Formula BMW UK series. - MARTIN D CLARK/STAFF 6

Ford Media

Pither getsthe call-up

KIWI driver Chris Pither will make his'main game' V3 Supercar debut with Team Kiwi Racing at Bahrain in two days. "It's an unbelievable opportunity thatTKR has given me," Pither, 19, said. "The opportunity to drive in the main game with TKR is a dream come true as a Kiwi driver. "It's all been made possible by the support of Kanga Loaders and Ash Cairns (Cairns Bins) and their New Zealand and Australian business associates. I'm so very grateful to all of those who have made this possible. "I have always wanted to drive in the main game but never dreamt my first opportunity to do so would be with TKR, which is just the icing on the cake and a real honour as a Kiwi driver", said Pither. While the move may seem like a risk considering TKR's difficult financial situation,TKR boss David John sees it differently. "TKR has always been about providing Kiwi drivers with opportunities wherever possible to advance their careers. Jason Richards, Angus Fogg and John

sjnaStTiTJriinJ 3 McIntyre all got their first drives in a V8 Supercar courtesy of TKR and now Chris is simply the next driver to be provided such an opportunity." Pither has been competing in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series this year. He drives the #41 Kanga Loaders Falcon AU and currently sits in 14th place. Pither has been given the opportunity after Paul Radisich's heavy crash at Bathurst. So far, the team has raised $275,000 to go towards its 2007 Ford Performance Racing deal. TKR missed Surfers Paradise, before Craig Baird drove for it at Symmons Plains. Baird will also contest Phillip Island.

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NEWS

Control brakes underfire THE announcement at Symmons Plains of implementation of a control brake disc for V8 Supercars in 2007 has stirred up a hornet's nest among the teams. While on paper the low-cost Alcon disc could, in stand alone terms, represent a saving,teams are pointing to the fact that a number of other components will have to be changed to accommodate the disc, and that its implementation - at the start of 2007 - will leave many teams with brand new existing stock that will effectively become junk. One team owner insisted that his current stocks of equipment, planned to run through to the end of 2007,amount to over $500,000. A document has been circulating among teams in the past few days outlining the objections and changeover cost of implementing the control disc (to be joined by control Alcon calliper in 2008). In most cases, suspension

uprights will need to be redesigned to suit. It also comments on the fact that the proposed disc has not been tested on a V8 Supercar even by teams currently using Alcon brakes. MNews understands that the TEGATechnical Committee, which might well have been able to pinpoint one or more of the issues raised, wasn't consulted prior to the decision. We hear that a canvas of the 14 two-car teams making up the V8 show produced nine against, three in favour, and two uncertain about the 2007 introduction of the disc system. It is likely that the teams against the immediate introduction of the control disc will seekto have the TEGA Board - which now features and additional two 'independent' members - delay its implementation for at least a year. Whether they succeed is another matter.

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New lookfor AGP supports

A NEW-look support program and a busy Friday are the big changes to the 2007ING Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix. While the Albert Park race will be the first look at FI's new practice regulations, which will see a lot more practice for the GP cars on Fridays,the loss of V8 Supercars from the support bill means an all-new look. Heading the list is the Carrera Cup series. Formula 3,V8 Utes and,for the first time at the GP, Aussie Racers. Plans to bring an international field of GT3 Sportscars to Australia for a number of races,including a one-hour,two-driver race on Saturday, were well advanced but MNews believes that the plan had to be shelved after last-minute difficulties. There were suggestions that a number of V8 Supercar drivers, who otherwise have the weekend off, had expressed interest in competing in the event and we believe that there is a similar level of interest in some ofthe drivers appearing in the Carrera Cup races. As well, the usual Historic Demonstration will feature, next year highlighting Racing and Sportscars from the 1957-1977 era. The GP will also feature the usual Celebrity Challenge though the race will take place without any level of manufacturer sponsorship following the withdrawal of www.mnews.com.au

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BMW.The race will feature the same 25 120is used this year, the cars now owned and prepared by Sherrin Motorsport. What will be interesting will be whether the absence of V8 Supercars on the bill drives down the attendance. A belief that as many people attend the event to watch the V8 races as the FI s has been conspicuously supported by V8 Supercars Australia for some time,and this year's Clipsal 500 advertising even features a particular made-for-Victoria advert that emphasises that should they want to see the Holdens battle the Fords,fans will have to travel to Adelaide to do so (which rather ignores fact that Victoria hosted three V8SCS rounds this year to SA's one). A drop in numbers would not be good business for the AGP Corporation, particularly in light of this year's event. Melbourne relinquished its traditional season-opening date and became Round 3 due to a clash with the Commonwealth Games and while the 2007 will open the season, it falls immediately prior to the Melbourne World Swimming Championship. This year, the AGP drew a stated four-day crowd of 301,500,a drop of 57,500 on 2005 and well short of the record attendance of 401,000 in 1996. 7

Changes in place for single tyre deal

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Japanese influence at Williams TOYOTA Motorsport protege Kazuki Nakajima has been signed as a WilliamsFl test driver in 2007. The 21-year-old Japanese is the son of Satoru Nakajima, who contested 74 Grands Prix (in 1987-89 with Lotus and 1990-91 with Tyrrell). Kazuki was the runner-up in the 2005 All-Japan Formula 3 championship and finished seventh in the 2006 F3 EuroSeries with a Dallara-Mercedes, winning one race. Nakajima, who will be involved with Narain Karthikeyan on the development of the new, Toyota V8powered Williams FW29, will race in GP2 next year alongside Nicolas Lapierre in the DAMS team. ■ Work has now begun on the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium which will return to the Fl calendar next year after missing out in 2005. The work, which will be completed over the northern winter, will include a completely revamp of the pit and paddock area which will be much bigger than previously. This will entail changes to the Bus Stop chicane and the hairpin at La Source. ■ The pits complex at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari near Imola, Italy, were due to be blown up on November 19 as the venue presses ahead with a state-funded refurbishment, despite losing its San Marino Grand Prix in 2007. Massimo Marchignoli, the town's optimistic mayor, told Gazzetta dello Sport: "Imola wants to maintain the prestige of its circuit. I'm convinced the absence of Formula 1 will be just a one-year thing, and we'll get it back in 2008." ■ Jacques Villeneuve, who became a father last week, will not be a Roush Racing driver in NASCAR in 2007, but rumours suggest that the 35 yearold former World Champion and his manager Craig Pollock are working to put together a team to use Roush Racing machinery. ■ A judge in York, England, has ordered that Fl cars be allowed to run at Elvington Airfield for only 10 days in 2007. The local residents complained that this year's 16 days were excessive. Fl teams like to use Elvington because of its smooth surface and the length of its runway, on which they can do aerodynamic mapping. - JOE SAWARD/QUENTIN SPURRING 8

deals with the six teams that m A f'were supplied by Michelin \* this season, meaning that all ;.te|ims v^ll be able to use the ●yapa'^es^ tyres when testing resumes at the end of the . month,!

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"S-Som^ teams, particularly McLaren, had requested the Michel h provide tyres for the Bai;cel6na test scheduled for Nov|mber 28-30, despite the fact that the French company ■. ■. ' withdrew from the sport at ' the end ofthe 2006 season because the Bridgestone deal was riot yet in place. Bridgestone has also ● announced that it will use a single-specification tyre throughout the entire off-

season testing period and for the Australian GP to enable it to cope with the demands of having to supply the entire field. "Unless there is a massive problem with the compound that we test in Barcelona, that will be the spec that we race at the seasonopener," Bridgestone director of motorsport Hirohide Hamashima told autosport.com. "Because of the sheer volume that we have to produce,the production line is full already. We have to have enough tyres for everyone at any time. "We had to change philosophy totally, however it was not our fault that the single tyre came into force for 2007."

Cost-containment? Ifyousayso ● 90

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Renault reshuffle jimjft

RENAULT Fl's Executive Director of Engineering Pat Symonds is to be given a new role in the team this year working "more closely" with team principal Flavio Briatore. It is not clear exactly what this means, but Symonds, above, will continue to be the team's respresentative on the FIA Technical Working Group and a member ofthe Open Cockpit Research Group. He will still attend the Fl races and wilLremain involved in engineering and race strategy but will now have less of an operational role, leaving Giancarlo Fisichella's race engineer Alan Permane to become Chief Race Engineer. There are also changes in the Renault Fl structure in France with the experienced Denis Chevrier, the team's head of trackside engine operations, moving to a new position to oversee engine operations for both Renault and Red Bull Racing, while Fabrice Lorn, Fisichella's motor engineer, will be in charge of overseeing the Red Bull engines. -JOESAWARD

BUDGETS continue to rise in Formula 1, despite cost-cutting measures. According to figures available covering the 2005 season, Fl World Champion Renault Fl pushed up its budget from US$179m in 2004 to US$229m - a hike of 28 percent. The team's staff numbers also increased by nine percent from 463 people to 508.This meant that the team outspent McLaren -in 2005, as McLaren Racing had a budget of only US$216m (up from US$208m in 2004). The team also expanded its employees, rising from 524 to 538. Honda Racing Fl is also a team expanding fast, with a hike in staff from 382 to 438 and a rise in the budget by 62 percent from US$114m to US$185m.The team eventually spent US$190m and so ended up with a loss. But how's this - the only major Fl team registered in Britain to make any cuts was Williams, which trimmed its budget from US$169m to US$159m and its staff from 513 to 500. However, the team made a stunning $US68m profit due to a legal settlement worth US$48.7m (which was probably Jenson Button's buy-out deal with the team) and by selling a driver's contract (believed to be Nick Heidfeld's)forUS$1.9m.

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Ant Steps Up J0fl saward

BRITAIN will have another Grand Prix driver in 2007 with confirmation of the long standing expectation that Anthony Davidson will be joining Takuma Sato at Super Aguri FI. Davidson has earned his chance after testing with the BAR

Honda team since December 2000, when he was first signed up after winning the Formuia Ford Festivai. in 2001 he continued to race in British Formuia 3 (as Sato's team mate at Cariin Motorsport) but since then he had competed in just a handfui of races. He made his FI debut with Minardi in 2002, doing two

races, and was then seen in 2003 in a Prodrive Ferrari 550 GTS Maraneilo at Sebring, Le Mans and in the Petit Le Mans event at Road Atlanta, in 2004 he had a one-off with BAR-Honda when Sato was unweii, but the car suffered engine failure early in the race, in his karting days, Davidson was closeiy-matched to Jenson

Button and Dan Wheldon. Button has gone on to be an FI race winner and Wheldon has enjoyed impressive success in the United States, with the indy Racing League titie in 2005 and victory in the Indianapoiis 500. Davidson has been intent on making it into FI and believes that the Super Aguri drive will be 'a great opportunity".

and Klien takes his job

FORMER Red Bull driver Christian Klien has beaten Englishman Gary Paffett to the job of Honda test/ reserve driver. The man who had seemed to be ieading the pack was the former McLaren test driver, Paffett. Honda sources suggested that his experience with a top team - he has compieted more than 13,000 km of testing with McLaren - was something of great value, and thus it was a big surprise when the team announced that the job had gone to Klien. Kiien, right, had 46 Grand Prix starts with Jaguar Racing and Red Buil, but was dropped for 2007, having faiied to beat David Coulthard on a reguiar basis. The big question, however, is why www.mnews.com.au

Paffett did not get the drive, and the indications are that his management (Martin Brundie and Mark Biundeii) pushed Honda too hard on the money front and, as a resuit, are now left looking for something eise to do. Paffett, far right, is 25 and has yet to race in a Grand Prix, and there are few reai opportunities now ieft in FI uniess Brundie and Biundeii can convince Spyker to take him on which wouid involve Paffett bringing money to the team. The remaining test drives are not really worth getting excited about and it may be that Paffett wiii end up going to America, aithough even there money is now an important element in deciding who gets what drives. -JOE SAWARD

^EACE AT LAST

Flavcan^W a telly FLAVIO Briatore, the Renault FI team principal and former manager of Fernando Alonso, made almost US$4 million from TV broadcasts of Formula 1 races in Spain iast year, according to the annual accounts of his UK company.Stakeout Ltd. Briatore purchased the Spanish TV rights from the Formula One group before Alonso's performances made him the nation's biggest sports star. Briatore sold on the rights to the Telecinco channel in 2004 and the deal pays him a viewership-based commission. The Spanish TV audience has grown from a few hundred thousand to the 8.6 million who tuned in last month to watch Alonso clinching this year's Worid Championship in Brazil.

n V/ith India and Russia likely to join the global Formula 1 circus in 2010 - when South Korea will also have a race -the traditional European venues are under increasing pressure to keep their fixtures. Formula One CEO Bernie Ecclestone startled Siiverstone circuit executives last week by suggesting that, starting in 2008,the British Grand Prix might alternate with the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours. Ecclestone told Bloomberg:"The French are happy to do that." The BRDC, which owns Siiverstone, rejected Ecclestone's suggestion. BRDC chairman Stuart Roll told The Times:"We said it doesn't work for us. We can't see how a Grand Prix every second year would work financially. We have to keep the place in a suitable condition for a Grand Prix. We may be able to let some staff go temporarily and hire them back, but that's a difficult way to run a business. There is [also] a danger that we will be unable to fund improvements. There may be a point where the amount we have to pay for hosting the Grand Prix becomes untenable." n The Toyota-owned Fuji International Speedway, which will host the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix in 2007,is preparing for a race day crowd of 140,000,and a three-day total of 280,000. The Fuji Televisionsponsored race has the motto;"Endless Beauty, Unlimited Excitement". n China has been given a seat on the FIA World Motor Sport Coundl. Its delegate is Wan Heping,the vice- ^ chairman ofthe national body, FASC (Federation of Automobile Sports of the People's Republic of China). -QUENTIN SPURRING 10

After years of war,the FIA and the Manufacturers make FI peace

THE FIA and the Grand Prix Manufacturers Association have reached an agreement that will end the conflict which has blighted FI for the last few years. The agreement was reached in a meeting in Munich last week and both sides say that they are ready to sign a new deal for at least five years. Both said that there has been "a major breakthrough"and added that objectives for the future have now been defined, including the relevance of the technology for road vehicles, the costs, and how the rules are defined. In the future, such discussions will be held with representatives of the manufacturers at board level, which wili to some extent cut the team owners out of the loop. Having said that, however, car manufacturers now own (or have a significant effect in the decision making process) of all but three teams-Williams, Red Bull Racing and ScuderiaToro Rosso. The threat of a breakaway series long since disappeared as the manufacturers did not have the fortitude to go it alone and challenge the FIA. Thus a negotiated settlement was always going to be the solution although there was a need for

some compromise from the FIA in order for the manufacturers to be seen to have won something. A more direct say in how the rules are written is the end-result while also the sport now seems to be heading in a direction that may have more relevance to road cars. This is not a new idea. FI designer John Barnard was arguing for small turbo diesels to be introduced in FI more than 10 years ago and regenerative braking systems were developed by McLaren - and banned by the FIA - in 1998. Most of the technology that will be allowed is already well-developed and the FIA argues that this is how costs will be kept down. But it remains to be seen if that will happen, as a direct link between racing and product tends to push up the racing budgets. The suggestion is that FI may return to turbocharged engines in the future, with development heading in the direction of turbo bio diesels. This makes some sense but the last time the sport go into turbocharging, the costs were such that the FIA had to step in and force the manufacturers to accept 3.5-litre normally-aspirated engines. -JOESAWARD

Now,just what is this Bio-Diesel?

WHEN Rudolf Diesel first revealed his prototype engines in the 1890s, he ran them on peanut oil and argued that the use of vegetable oils for engine fuels might one day become the norm. As carbon-based fossil fuels begin to run out and the world looks for cleaner solutions, it may be that Diesel's prediction will come true. Biodiesel can be obtained from

vegetable oil or animal fats. It is biodegradable and non-toxic, and when burned has significantly fewer emissions than petroleumbased diesel. It functions in current diesel engines and can be delivered to the consumer using existing infrastructure and while it is still more expensive to manufacture than petrodiesel, this will probably change as sales increase. Helping the automotive

industry to develop turbocharged biodiesels would be a major step for FI in terms of the sport's relevance to the automobile industry. It would advertise the products and perhaps offer new scientific developments that could be applied to production cars, there is little doubt that this is rather more useful than continuing with the current gasguzzling, high-revving 2.4-litre V8s. -JOE SAWARD

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Bourdais drops F1 ambitions SEBASTIEN Bourdais has

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Briscoe:In Demand AFTER a speedy, if unlucky, final Champ Car round of the year - his second - Ryan Briscoe looks to have a number of good options on the table for 2007. The opportunity to do a pair of races for the RuSPORT team, replacing the injured Cristiano Da Matta, has proven to be a worthwhile opportunity for the formerToyota FI test driver, who has worked his way through 2006 with a number of one-off and short contract drives. He will return to the cockpit of the Australian A1GP entry at this weekend's round in Malaysia before returning to the US for meetings to discuss 2007. MNews understands that there are two strong Champ Car teams on the phone along with other options which will rule out any thought of a return to Australia, and V8 racing. Whether his final 2007 plans will allow for a repeat of the two-race HRT long distance program remains to be seen.

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admitted that he is unlikely to ever race In Formula 1. The three-time Champ Car Champion has said that he thinks that his chances of driving in GP racing as very smail but has hinted at a tiit at the famed 24 Hour race in his home town of Le Mans, "i think it's over," Bourdais told French sports daily L'Equipe. "It's frustrating, but there are loads of talented drivers who never went to F1 ... one can always say it's unfair but that's FI, and it's never been fair." The 27-year-old is believed to be under consideration by Peugeot, which returns to Le Mans next year with a dieselengined prototype. "I've always said that I would do Le Mans every year I could - it's a race I want to win," he said."I hope the discussions with Peugeot come to something but, today, nothing is decided." Bourdais has tested FI cars in the past, notably with Renault, but it is believed that despite the promotion of Heikki Kovalainen to a race seat and the lack of wins from Giancarlo Fisichella, the Frenchman remains out of favour with Renault Sport boss Flavio Briatore. So, despite a lack of Frenchman in the sport, not even three CCWS titles and the right passport will get Bourdais a chance.

New Man at Williams THE rebuilding of the Williams FI team continues with the announcement of a new CEO with an Australian link. Adam Parr has been recruited from the mining and mineral company RioTinto. A lawyer by training, Parr spent five years based in Perth as managingdirector of a salt company before returning to London to become president and chief commercial officer of RioTinto Minerals. Parr replaces Chris Chappie, who left the team after two years in the top job. -JOESAWARD

K. Take Stock to Masses JOCHEN Mass has launched his proposed American Stock Car Europe race series. The former Formula 1 and Sportscar racing ace, who has arranged to purchase more than 20 race-ready 2006 Busch Series cars, reports"huge interest," especially from British, Dutch and Scandinavian teams. Six ASCE races will provisionally be run in 2007 on the European ovals at Lausitzring and Rockingham,and at the Niirburgring, Hockenheimring, Silverstone and Monza. Mass says he is also in talks with the promoter at the Venray oval in Holland, which is scheduled to be demolished and replaced by a bigger track, and with the consortium behind a new oval project in Spain. n Vauxhall, GM's British brand, will trim its British Touring Car Championship team from three cars to two in 2007.The decision reflects a new BTCC regulation that will allow only two drivers to score Manufacturers points in the series. Gavin Smith has taken the drop and VX Racing's works drivers will Fabrizio Giovanardi and Tom Chilton. In 2006, Vauxhall failed to win a BTCC title for the first time since 2000.

Hobson joins Sydney Star

SYDNEY Star Racing has purchased Lee Holdsworth's Garry Rogers Motorsport Commodore VZ, which will be driven by Brett Hobson in next year's Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series. Hobson will sell his current ex-Steven Ellery Racing Falcon BA after the final round at Phillip Island, before stepping into chassis GRM06 next year. Sydney Star's acquisition of the Holdsworth car is the third chassis that they have purchased from GRM. Hobson will be partnered at Sydney Star next year by current driver Matthew Hunt, who drives chassis GRM05. Team manager Daniel Sugden told MNews that now with two near-identical cars, he is looking for

forward progress in the new year. "I think Brett is going to be a great driver," Sugden said."We are confident we can challenge for good results next year. "Our cars have been really reliable, and with two good drivers who will push each other. It should be a good year." The livery of the two cars is likely to be a similar scheme, although each driver will have his own sponsors. At this time, Hobson is in negotiations with current sponsor United Oil. Sydney Star is now preparing for the final round of the Fujitsu series at Phillip Island.The team will prepare Hobson's BA, Hunt's Commodore and ACT driver Tim Monte's Falcon AU. - GRANT ROWLEY

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Joining forces: Hobson,above, will race Holdsworth's car, below,in the 2007Fujitsu V8 Series.

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n First it was the end of the Winston Cup and now, it is Superbikes. As expected, Winston has announced the end of its association with the Ten Kate Honda World Superbike team. The American-owned cigarette brand has followed other brands out of the market and the SBK will now be a smoke-free zone. n With Winston gone,the Ten Kate Honda Team has announced its 2007 programs. The Dutch team has backing from LCD monitor and TV producer HANNspree for its two-class effort, with James Toseland and Roberto Rolfo in the World Superbike Championship on Honda CBR1000 RRs and World Champion Sebastien Charpentier and Kenan Sofuoglu in the Supersport on brand new CBR 600 RRs. n In other Honda sponsorship news, American Honda has finally confirmed that its entries in the AMA Superbike Championship will be backed by Corona beer. One of the riders of the Corona Extra CBRIOOORRs will be Briton James Ellison, who raced for the Tech 3 Yamaha team in MotoGP this season. -QUENTIN SPURRING/STAFF 72

Hand-me-down Howard FUJITSU V8 Supercar Series leaders Howard Racing has purchased another chassis from the Triple 8 Race Engineering stable. Howard Racing's Adam Macrow tested the car at Queensland Raceway last Friday during the hand over day, while team owner Mark Howard will get the honour of debuting it in the last round at Phillip Island next month. Howard Racing's new chassis is #8, which was

Triple 8's spare this year. Chassis #5,campaigned by Mark Howard this year, is for sale. At this stage, Howard Racing plans to run two cars in the Development Series, although no drivers have been signed yet. And expect to see a livery change to the Howard cars next year, as the Betta Electrical backing is likely to leave in 2007. -GRANT ROWLEY

motorsport news

NEWS

Equipment upgrade

TDR gets more Clayton Commodoresfor D'Alberto and McNally's 2007 Fujitsu V8 campaign grantJroyyley TONY D'Alberto Racing will enter the 2007 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series with new equipment and a renewed focus. The Victorian-based Fujitsu V8 team will purchase two new'Clayton'Commodores for D'Alberto and team-mate Mark McNally to use in the Fujitsu Series next year. It is believed that one car will come from the Holden Racing Team stable, while the other will be aToll HSVVZ. It was also confirmed recently that West Australian McNally will remain as the team's second driver in 2007, after he joined the team in Round 3 at Queensland Raceway this year. The upgrade in equipment comes after a frustrating season for D'Alberto, which has yielded just one podium for the season (Bathurst). "We have struggled with our experience in setting this year's car-

up," he said. "Our car has had a real narrow set-up window. Last year's car was a lot more forgiving. "It's been frustrating. We've had some bad luck and crashes, which has come about due me pushing

hard. Our luck turned around at Bathurst though,so we'll see how Phillip Island goes." The new cars in 2007 will be overseen by TDK's first full-time engineer. Former Holden engineer Anthony Pethebridge, who has

worked with TDR this year as a consultant, will step up as their main man. In the meantime,TDR is in the process of moving its headquarters from Lilydale to a larger facility in Kilsyth, Victoria.

Astranomkal HOLDEN Motorsport has lodged the first entry for the 2007 WPS Bathurst 12-hour. Two factory Holden Astras will run in the Easter event, one Astra SRi Turbo in the Hot Hatch class and a diesel-powered Holden Astra CDTi in the Alternative Energy class. There is yet to be any announcement as to who will prepare or drive the cars, however MNews believes that the SRi will driven by three of the Holden Young Lions, most likely Shane Price, Jack Perkins and Fabian Coulthard. "When we came up with the concept of reviving the 12-hour race we knew it was important to have the support of the manufacturers and Holden is the first of what I expect to be several manufacturers to confirm their support,"said event director James O'Brien. The WPS 12 Hour will form part of the 2007 Bathurst International Motor Festival.

Home awayfrom home

SIX Queensland-based V8 Supercar teams spent a couple of cosy days and nights together in Melbourne last week. Due to the tight two week turn around between Symmons Plains,Tasmania, and Bahrain, northern-based teams spent a few www.tnnews.com.au

days at Gibson Freight's Superterminal in Tullamarine. The team's prepared their cars before being loaded onto a 747-400 Series Freighter Aircraft at Avalon Airport for teh 12,000km trip to teh Middle East. 13

Champ Cars'

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Something you don't see in V8 Supercar racing is the post race burnout which has been perfected by Homestead winner Greg Biffle.

PLANNER

November 20

Thursday i

The wTCC final in Macau could have been worse for Alfa Romeo, but not much. The Melco Hairpin was just the place for the Running of the Bulls, Red or otherwise.

Is Patrizi US bound? He's been testing in Europe, but America looks tempting andrew]van leeuwen MICHAEL Patrizi has narrowed his options for 2007 down to three international categories. Patrizi has tested both GP2 and World Series by Renault since the conclusion of this year's Formula BMW UK series, and has confirmed them as his options in Europe. However,even more likely is a Champ Car Atlantic campaign forTeam Australia, with which Patrizi completed two rounds for in this year's championship. "I will definitely be driving in either GP2,World Series or Atlantic," said Patrizi. "It's hard to say if I have a preference. Every driver wants to do GP2, but we need to be realistic. "If the opportunity is there then America would be fantastic. You need to look at your career, not just next season, and I have good

career options in the USA, "Team Australia know how i drive,they have a Champ Car team,and they are keen on having two Austraiian drivers. I'm thinking long-term." Also likely to return to the US is James Davison. The former Team Austraiia driver is talking to two Atlantics teams regarding next season, "i'm really keen to get back and apply everything I learned," Davison said. "I don't think I got a fair chance this year." Davison's best result was seventh at San Jose, which turned out to be his final race for the year with Team Australia. Should an Atlantic deal not be sorted, Davison would consider the Star Mazda series. The first official test for the Champ Car Atlantics is in late January.

Aussie World Champion

Change of pacefor Stubber NEWLY-crowned Biante Historic Touring Car Champion Paul Stubber will contest the Dubai 24-hour race next January. Stubber will team up with : his brother Ray and fellow West Australian historic touring car driver Ron Moller.The trio will takethe wheel of a Mitsubishi ^ Mirage. The Dubai race will kick off a new-look racing program for Stubber. Having done the past four seasons in the Biante Series, Stubber is planning to take a one-year break to concentrate 76

BEN George has become a World Champion. The Australian took on the best at the 2006 Rotax Max Challenge World Final at the Kartodromo di Viani in Portugal last weekend - and came out on top. George had a quiet start to the meeting. qualifying fifth before placing first and third in the heat races. But he was unstoppable when it counted, winning both the pre-final and final, becoming the first Australian since James Courtney in 1997 to win a World karting Championship.

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on some different motor racing events. At this stage his plans include taking his Camaro for a run on the salt plains of Lake Gardiner, as well as some of the AMRS endurance races. Stubber is also planning to spend some time racing his exWayne Negus Torana A9X in the United States. There is also a chance that Stubber will build a new car for the 2008 Biante Series, most likely a Monaro. - ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

motorsportnews

NEWS %

Sonic boom for Mygale Leading Formula Ford team set to go French in 2007

MYGALE is set to have a bigger presence in the 2007 Australian Formula Ford Championship, with leading team Sonic Motor Racing Services switching to the French-built chassis next season. Sonic has played the part of a factory Van Diemen squad in Australia in recent years, however are likely to run three Mygales in next year's national championship. "This is huge, we've worked towards something like this for a long time,"said Australian Mygale importer Greg Woodrow. "We've been looking towards getting the right team running Mygales, and now we have. We know the cars are fast, but to have the right team bringing the right drivers is the last piece of the puzzle." But Sonic won't be the only team running the Mygale chassis in 2007. According to Woodrow there are approximately seven new chassis on order from France, however it is not yet known how many will make it into national competition next season. "We've ordered that many cars, but we are still waiting to see how

many Sonic are going to run, and how many will run in state series." Along with a host of the new SJ07a chassis, there will be at least one of the 2006 variation in next year's national championship. Glen Wood is expected to step up from the Victorian Formula Ford Championship, using the same SJ06a chassis that his brother Dale has taken to two round wins in this year's championship. Also expected to make the step up from the Victorian series is Asher Johnston.The young South Australian has been running an SJ04a in this'year's state series, but has ordered an SJ07a for next year, although it is yet to be confirmed that he will run that car in the national championship. Johnston is making a trip to the Mygale factory in France immediately following this weekend's Island Magic meeting at Phillip Island. Two Australian Formula Ford Championships have been won in Mygale chassis, with Greg Ritter winning the title in 1999 and Luke Youlden backing it up in 2000. -ANDREWVAN LEEUWEN

Outin front:Asher Johnston, above,is expected to make the step up the the Australian Formula Ford Championship with Mygale next season. Below is an artist's impression of the 2007Sonic-Mygales.

FFord setfor crash upgrade FORD Europe is working with the FIA and a British University to develop elements of a new Formula Ford chassis concept, which may be in use as early as 2008. Ford Europe chief Jos Capita, on hand to see last week's Tasmanian V8 round (en route to NZ for the WRC rally), told MNews that Ford is developing specialist areas ofa new tubular frame Formula Ford design, which will be made available to Formula Ford manufacturers, to save the cost of development. He explained Ford's rationale during an exclusive interview with MNews(see page 40); "Formula Ford will be 40 next year, and we think that the reason it survived is that it was never a one-chassis championship. And we want to keep it that way, because we need new engineers to be getting into motorsport and getting into the motoring industry, and you can't do that if www.tnnews.com.au

you run all the series with single chassis. "When you a single chassis you don't have any competition between engineers; there is no room to move anywhere. So that's why we want to keep this current concept, even if it's somehow more expensive to be developing four or five chassis for the same number of customers instead of

Just one chassis. "But we believe that it is the right thing, and that we have to keep the chassis under control. And that's why, in the future, we also believe in the tubular frame chassis instead of the carbon fibre chassis, because these cars (Formula Ford) are sold on, and sold on, and sold on. "Formula Ford has to be the

first step into car racing, and it is very difficult and dangerous if you do that with a carbon fibre chassis and sell it from Europe, to Australia, to South Africa, to America.The car could just break, because you don't know what has been done to them. It's better to have tubular chassis. "We're working with the FIA and with Cranfield University to develop a new tubular chassis with common crash structures so that it still means cheap development for the chassis manufacturers.They've got all their freedoms with the set-up and the design of the base chassis, but they don't have to do the crash testing. "So it keeps it cheap for them, and if it is cheap for them to engineer the car then it is cheap for customers to buy them. And that allows us to have a multi chassis championship while still keeping a very good cost level." - CHRIS LAMBDEN 77

NEXTEL

A NASCAR source has hinted that plans for the Car of Tomorrow to debut in the spring of 2007 at Bristol could be scrapped, with the governing body not happy with on-track performance and, perhaps, looking for an alternative to the new body and chassis design. Time will tell if they follow through with the plans, but if the talk is true, a decision will have to come soon. n Although nothing official has been announced, PPI Motorsports owner Cal Wells look set to close the doors on his single-car Cup operation this week.Travis Kvapil, who took the team to the 2003 Truck title, looks set to move back to the Truck Series with Roush Racing. As reported in MNews earlier in the year, sponsor Tide will not return to the team - or, apparently to any team - ending its 19-year involvement in the sport. The Wells team started with off road racing in the early 1980s before progressing to the CART Series. It then moved from California to North Carolina to enter the Busch and Cup Series in 1999. n Robert Yates has confirmed he's secured sponsorship for the number 88 Ford next season to UPS, which will followed Dale Jarrett to Michael Waltrip Racing.Yates will now start a driver search for that car to run alongside rookie David Gilliland in the M&M's Fusion. Stephen Leicht was to drive the car, but he will continue to run the Busch Series for Yates to gain further experience. n Craig Curione has been fined $10,000 and suspended by NASCAR indefinitely for a scuffle he started post-race at Texas on November 5. The front wheel changer for Scott Riggs knocked Kevin and Delana Harvick and NASCAR official Johns Sacco to the ground.The latter was the only one injured in the squabble, suffering a sprained ankle. The fracas started in the closing laps of the race after Harvick got Riggs (who was holding second place at the time)loose and then spun him into the wall exiting turn four. Whiie Riggs's fast Evernham Dodge was writing itself off. Chase competitors Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon spun while taking evasive action. Evernham Motorsports will not appeal the penalties. - MARTIN D CLARK 78

The Eagle Rocked A CONTINUING strike by members of the United Steelworkers union in the USA may force a change of tyre supplier in NASCAR next season. Talks between the union and Goodyear Tire & Rubber broke off late last week and more than 12,000 workers who have been on strike since early October are continuing to protest against potential factory closures and changes to retirement benefits. In the toughening circumstances, Goodyear has been unable to commit to supply tyres for NASCAR's Nextel Cup, Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series for 2007, beyond guaranteeing stock for the series'three biggest races - the Daytona 500 in late February, Charlotte's 600-miler in late May and summer's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis. In the meantime, NASCAR faces the demands of continued pre season testing, particularly with the Car of Tomorrow program, which will see the new car run in a limited number of events.To accommodate this, NASCAR is in discussions with Hoosier, the Indiana-based racing tyre maker that already supplies rubber for NASCAR's ARCA RE/MAX Series (which races at both Daytona and Talledega) and its AutoZone West and Busch East Grand National series. Hoosier has been in NASCAR's top divisions before, notably going head-to-head with Goodyear in Winston Cup in 1988 before winning the Daytona 500 the following year. It withdrew before a one-year return in 1994.

One Red Hot debut Juan impresses butthen burns at Homestead JUAN Pablo Montoya had a firey debut in NASCAR's Nextel Cup. The former Formula 1 star qualified a 29th but ended up 34th and in a ball offire after Ryan Newman spun him hard rearwards into the wall with 16 laps to run. "I think the 12(Newman)just got my rear bumper and spun me around,"said Montoya, who was in 16th at the time. "It's one of those things that happens in racing, it's a shame it was a fast race car and it was great out there. I Just was trying

to make up some places and get upfront." Montoya was following his team-mate Casey Mears(who he'll replace at Ganassi next ‘ n year) at the time of the incident and had already passed to the outside of Dale Earnhardt Jr. With Just over 70 laps remaining Montoya was give the'free pass' to make it back on the lead lap. Montoya ran'a strong 14th in the previous day's Busch race (his fourth) after finishing 20th at Phoenix the previous week. - MARTIN D CLARK

Chewy on your boot(er,trunk) JUAN Pablo Montoya is going red for part of next season. The high-profile Nextel Cup rookie will run three 2007 races in the colours of Big Red chewing gum,which is a brand of confectionary giant Wrigley's. The company will back rising stars Reed Sorenson and David Stremme, who will drive the #41 Dodge in the first 25 Busch Series races in 2007,as well as the former Indianapolis 500 champion and Formula 1 driver. Big Red will be an associate sponsor in the other 33 races, when JPM will run in Texaco,,

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Loeb unlikely for Rally GB A LATE change in the regulations that allowed drivers to perform post finish ramp donuts proved unpopuiar amongst the World Championship reguiars. While it was widely anticipated that event winner Marcus Gronholm would take to the purpose-built skid pan to cook the tyres of his Focus, he was quickly whisked away by Ford team personnel. Even regular show-stoppers Petter and Henning Solberg declined the invitation by event organisers to take up the donut challenge. It was left up to MotoGP star Valentino Rossi to pick up the gauntlet, the Italian struggling somewhat to get his Subaru Impreza spinning. In the past the FIA has imposed significant financial penalties on drivers performing victory donuts, however it is also believed that the team themselves have strict instructions in place to avoid donuts which places undue stress on the transmission and drive train. With the crowd rabid for tyre smoke the Group N challengers took up the task,leading New Zealand driver Richard Mason and Production victor Jarri-Matti Latvala smoking up their Subarus. It appears that the tyre-smoking donut ritual made famous by Colin McRae in the 1990s is set for extinction. n Gigi Gain was on hand in New Zealand to undertake recce ahead of 2007. Gain's presence added fuel to the rumours regarding his plans for 2007, with the Italian being linked to drives with either Ford or Subaru's M2 level teams. But the Italian himself was less optimistic. "It is not good right now, money is a problem, always a problem,"he said. "Pirelli have supported me very much this year but their future in WRC is not clear. So next year, perhaps no drive at all."

DESPITE daily treatment for his broken arm, it appears increasingly unlikely that Sebastien Loeb will make a return appearance on this year's World Rally Championship. Loeb and Kronos Citroen had hoped the newlycrowned World Champion would be fit to compete at the season-ending Wales Rally GB, but comments by the Frenchman in New Zealand appear to cast doubt. "It takes time and that of course is the problem," Loeb said.

"There is no miracle. It takes nearly three months for this kind of broken arm to fix, and I cannot do anything so I have to wait. "For the moment, it is important to recover and be ready for next year.There is no pressure on me to drive in Rally GB.The doctors are saying to me that my arm is in a good way and healing normally, but not to drive.' If Loeb is unable to drive in Wales, it is likely that Kronos will continue with Xevi Pons and Dani Sordo as its frontline attack, although former world champion Colin McRae and Citroen young-gun Kris Meeke are also rumored to be under consideration if a third car is entered for the event. Loeb completed shakedown in New Zealand, but was on a plane home before the first stage even started. - RYAN LAHIFF

New Promoterfor Melbourne? Possibly- but it depends upon the TV deal THE sudden departure of the Rally of Melbourne promoters appears to be short-lived, with a new party ready to take on the event. The unveiling of a new promoter for the Melbourne round will hinge on the finalisation of the television deal for-2Q07, with the NEC Australian

Rally Championship still locked in negotiations with existing host broadcaster Network Ten. The Rally of Melbourne deal joins both Mitsubishi and Ford in the wings,as all three programs effectively require a clear television plan before a final goahead is granted. "There are a lot of positives for

the Championship awaiting to be announced,"said Australian Rally Commission Chairman Garry Connelly. "There are a lot of exciting projects ahead for 2007." A final decision on the television deal is expected before December. - RYAN LAHIFF

n Cody Crocker looks almost certain to sign on for the PWRC in 2007, with numerous sources in New Zealand revealing that Les Waikden and John Atkinson (father of Chris) have been speaking with teams on his behalf. Crocker won this year's APRC after being squeezed out of the ARC by the withdrawal of Subaru. - RYAN LAHIFF 20

motorsportnews

NEWS

AN emotiotilal lyi^-Spot^boSs' coming so closed John Fl'emin^the President Wilson thanked his team MalGoliihiWIsdtiik^raisedjhisBP a|iidrgg©io6F,otd.Eui:ope, chimed RoFd;VU!R£ team and his drivers, and sponsors for the result, ai ihiwiiith Wilson to offer his praise. the^Brit wiping away teafTas * : ^cal'mfnatioB ofac’JiJevenQents ^_>We,were counting on a robust Ford claimed the njanufaelUrerS ^.. sih$e'his M-Sport Speratibn ./■ ^ffSrmancein2006toputus iSegqpdevelopJng'.ford's World in the position where we could titleJh NewZealandi^, , It has-beeni aOfyeajs-sinee Rally Cat Focus Ihr 1'999. . mount a serious challenge for the -WilS^Joiik eontrcifdf the'tectpry . ■'% all the employees at Mtitlernext year^p to.win it this 'FoTiditeam, and he deGlared'the Sporty this iS.a great a'ehiei/ernen^ Seasoh with a completely new car j,resu It-the- :best ofnis lengthy rai ly andîs'ju^t toward: to the'h'uge ●H* -■>11 ■^rareer.-' ■ ■ f iâr.tieuiarl)^pleasing,"he ’d lil?e fb'tfiank Malcolm said and effortêveryone has put Ihhot''’" . [teehnicai director] Christian 'LThistitre g%sfne.g,reat ^ ■' only^this year but over all the Loriaux, our drivers and co¬ pefsonfel satisiaction" Wilson said-. years. . Tve spentimy rally carper with I can't describe how happy I drivers, and indeed everyone in'^ the tearn for a fantastic efforts am right nowrThe closest was Ford, and;Fn2 proud to be able to deliwerthe, aaufacturer's title probably when we won in Greece ■ throughoutthe year." - RYAN LAHIFF in 1997." ' . ■* to themjgftgr ro many years of

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Subaru looking for answers

THE technical and engineering direction of the Subaru World Rally Team has been : placed in question after another disastrous I outing for Petter Solberg and Chris Atkinson i in NewZeaiancL I The pair were hampered with serious ! understeer and struggled with grip from the I very first stage of the weekend,and from all ; reports the situation didn't improve as the weekend ^ore on,-' ^ "1 had a TV crew tell me our car understeered through every corner they saw me on," said an aggravated Atkinson on Saturday morning. "I told them to go and tell my engineers

because I've been telling them that too, but nothing seems to change," The 2006-spec Subaru Impreza WRC car is regarded as one of the worst-handling cars currently in the championship, with complaints from both drivers indicating that the handling, geometry and reliability of the suspension is atrocious. "It is horrible,"blasted Solberg."! have no grip, tyres are sliding everywhere and the car will not turn into any of the corners." Critics of the Subaru team suggest that the Prodrive-run operation has taken too much n of its research and development in-house.

and as a consequence may be producing sub standard components in key areas. Reports of seized struts, warped rubber bushings and a litany of broken suspension components are

common when Subaru's current predicament | is raised. i "I know the team is working very hard back ! in the UK," said Solberg, giving his Impreza a nudge with his toe."But all the work is on the new 2007 car, so hopefully it will be a lot better and we can start challenging for podiums and victories again next year. Until then, I have tp put up with this." - RYAN LAHIFF

f “V

Sutton

The Unfair Advantage

MOTOGP star Valentino Rossi put the nightmare of his short-lived 2002 outing to Rally GB out of his mind this weekend as he came to grips with the WRC and secured a respectable eleventh outright in the process. Rossi had gone into the weekend downplaying his appearance,saying that he was only competing for fun, but it has long been rumored that the Italian is searching for a future after he ends his career on bikes. "I need to know if I like it(WRC)and if I have good potential for the future,"said Rossi. "Rally is my great passion after motorcycling, because my father also did a lot with rallying after he finished with bikes.' Rossi, who has also sampled Ferrari's FI cars and a DTM Mercedes, said that he 22

considered rallying to be the ultimate fourwheel test. "The rally is the hardest way in car," he declared. "I am a lot faster on the track but I need to decide [about the future]; now I don't know. It is completely another world! "This is an event I definitely will come back for," he enthused."It has been an excellent weekend, and every stage has been amazing fun." Ironically, it almost all came to nought when officials noticing that Rossi had been wearing his trademark earring throughout the event;the FIA regulations forbidding any facial jewellry in rallying. Perhaps star power was stronger than regulatory power, as a blind eye was turned to the indiscretion. -RYAN LAHIFF

iT seems that Italian tuner Top Run can't stop the urge to bend the rules when it comes to railying in the world championship,with details finally revealed regarding the exclusion of all three of their entries at iast month's Rally Australia. Despite completing the entire rally, the Tango Rally Team Group N Mitsubishi Lancers of Gabriel Pozzo, Marcos Ligato and Sebastian Beltran were immediately excluded from the event at the finish. with FIA technical delegates citing undisclosed technical irregularities. Question marks had been raised by the sudden increase in pace of Ligato during the second and third legs of the event, but no proof was evident at the time - that is, until a scrutineer noticed a Top Run mechanic performing some odd adjustments to a turbo during the second leg service halt. A source close to the WRC described the findings by the technical delegates as"absolutely masterful, but cheating nonetheless". It appears that the team had engineered a removable screw that avoided any obvious tampering to the turbocharger, but allowed the crew to increase, at will, the car's available horsepower. A final punishment has yet to be handed down to the team, but each of the three drivers were immediately stripped of their Production World Rally Championship points and excluded from competing for the remainder of the season.The drama has caused a media uproar in Argentina, where the expioits of all three drivers are followed with significant interest. - RYAN LAHIFF

molorsportnews

NEWS

Max fast in SBKtest

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MAX Biaggi has proved he will be a contender in the 2007 World Superbike Championship by topping a two-day tyre test at Valencia. The controversial Italian got to grips with the 2007 Alstare Suzuki GSXRl 000 and topped the times, on what the team claimed was a race tyre. "Valencia is a very twisty track and there is not much opportunity to catch your breath because you are always working hard,"said Biaggi later."I enjoyed trying to make the bike work with me round it.This championship is full of specialist riders and I am new to it, so I know I have to adapt to the way of riding a Superbike." Second fastest was Lorenzo Lanzi on the works Ducati, while team-mate and World Champion Troy Bayliss ran only race tyres to be 0.3 slower. Former champion James Toseland was right behind and edged out Fonsi Nieto's Kawasaki and Troy Corser, who ran both 2006 and '07 Yamahas, expressing a preference for the newer bike. "I think the new bike overall is maybe already a little bit better than the fully developed'06 bike," he said,"and we have only just started.The'06 bike feels a bit more nervous, and the new one feels easier to ride overall." Regis Laconi (Kawasaki), Noriyuki Flaga and Robby Rolfo completed to top 10.

VALENCIA SBKTEST Suzuki Alstare 1 Biaggi 2 Lanzi Ducati Xerox 3 Kagayama Suzuki Alstare Ducati Xerox 4 Bayliss 5 Toseland Honda Ten Kate 6 Nieto Kawasaki PSG-1 Yamaha Itaiia 7 Corser 8 Laconi Kawasaki PSG-1 Yamaha Italia 9 Haga Honda Ten Kate 10 Rolfo www.mnews.com.au

1:33.9R 1:33.9Q 1:34.2R 1:34.2R 1:34.2Q 1:34.8R 1:34.9R 1:34.8R 1:35.1R 1:36.7R

Gmi) 0 JOHN Hopkins and Chris Vermeulen have shown that Suzuki's first-up SOOcc test at Valencia was no fluke by topping the sheets at Sepang. The Suzuki pair led all times in the three-day test in Mayaysia, Hopkins bettering his own best lap from this year's race by a second, despite a 190cc drop in engine capacity and the fact that the new V4 motor is still running in a chassis designed for the 2006 990. He was 0.4s ahead of the Australian in a rain-interrupted session. "We don't want to get too excited because there were a couple of very fast riders not at this test, but right now vye can't wait for the next test as it seems things are starting to happeni" said Hopper after the test. In his first test aboard Yamaha's 800, Colin Edwards was thirdfastest from Nicky Hayden,the World Champion spending much of the test working on developing the front end of Honda's RC212V. MakotoaTamada (Yamaha),Toni Elias and Carlos Checa were next ahead of test riders Tady Okada (Honda) Nobuatsu Aoki (Suzuki). Valentino Rossi skipped the test due to Rally NZ commitments, while Dani Pedrosa's recent arm surgery sidelined him from travelling to Malaysia. Both are expected to test in the final outing of the year at Jerez from 27-29 November.

Suzuki sets the pace SEPANG MOTOGP TEST 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

John Hopkins Chris Vermeulen Colin Edwards Nicky Hayden MakotoTamada Toni Elias Carlos Checa Tadayuki Okada Olivier Jacque

Suzuki Suzuki Yamaha Honda Yamaha Honda Honda Honda Kawasaki 990

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2:01.64 2:02.04 2:02.43 2:03.28 2:03.36 2:03.55 2:04.27 2:04.44 2:04.69

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Kawasaki: EckI out, Yoda in

KAWASAKI has taken its MotoGP program in-house. As expected, the Japanese I factory has split with long-time entrant Harald EckI.The program will now be overseen by Ichiro Yoda, who prior to joining Kawasaki Racing as Technical Director in 2005, worked on Yamaha's Ml program. "They will not be working

together anymore as of now," Team EckI mechanic Rob Roston told roadracingworld.com. "The team will now be run direct from Japan byYoda-san." Kawasaki is expected to set up a new race shop in either France or the Netherlands, while EckI is said to be ciose to announcing a new partnership with the llmor team. 23

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I World Series Sprintcars. ^jj|T 5 going to belike a tougn inhere are guys Garryyear in brazier back on the road,and he's now with a good team,and Max Dumesny, Brooke Tatnelf and Jason Johnson are aiways tough to beat. So, there's a lot of quality out there - that's why we didn't necessarily expect to be leading; the points at this stage. We expected to be somewhere near the front, but not right up there. Is consistency the key? A little bit, yes. The way the point system is. structured, you; definitely need to be in the top five every night, and really limit your non-finishes. Whoever wins the series won't have recorded more than two or three non-finishes. I think any more than that you're going to struggle. Early in the series it seems that everyone just goes for the outright wins. It's not until about the last five rounds that you see guys like Max or myself not taking quite as big risks - just beeause you've got a lot more to lose towards the end of the series. The Series madeAustralia its first tripWorld back to Western

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for a few years at the start ofthis season,and I think that's great for the sport,the facilties and;race tracks over there are awesome,so it was a.lot offun as a driver. But it was also good as a Speedway fan, seeingithe show:badk over there, seeing a good crowd;and seeing some great racing, , ; ■ > Without knowing what the-deal: is with promoters, i can't see why we wouldn't go back there again. The Western Australian suppott should: bring the series back in years to come. f' ‘he Auto Gear team and T are ABC taking a different approach to this year. We're not going to d'oingi every round-of the World Series, so we're not making a run for the points (even though we're leading them at the moment®. We^re going to do some more racing at Parramatta, and then drift between World Series and the international shows there. We ideally want to do more shows at Parramatta leading into the

try to get a few shows in before

. *Bi!ffwPi§h'the Outlaws are hpe, > ' y0%malce a sli3htTT!iisliak6'©®0:^ a corner'ahd two or three ofthem : engines and the slightly different weight rules that we run with'the' ^ wiH goJby youiUt really improves: , Outlaws. ^y-’dhyihg^^lIgpessMf'daesj ' In years past we've always just , with everyone;.^-'- l i \ changed our wings,changedJouf' They shoMy^Îiwhat cars are motor ffpone weekend,.and'tli|eht ''iable^gfdSllrojilfclSthat | try and^put ouribesffoot-TorwardleSh'tTbôni^SlTaurtl’siMbe / This year we're putting a bit more' - those guys are,in town^they preparation into it. ^ ^j^ show.youip^'fenehmankandi-y.ou. We;had»a g:obditundast'year.at J J x.Jha'y'efetcy^pfpie't^ljer^f,' l Outlaws, but it's very difficuitto ^'^■T'd'reallyilikeTp maketh'e , gofrornsmaiNraeks,aswell as . J^'igpîumthisyear.iônny^Ghati" ●_ 1 372ci enginesaPdfedifferent wings, ' was*n|0U.d^^|’ejtherelast'se^ ' . j and then roll into Outlaws with vbutIhiS is asnew'seasomahdt j TOO extra horsepower under your ; ^ rnaybe a win's npfiunrea'listic. i foot andi the best drivers in the ^ world:out on the track. 'We'lfbe ■ ;iT^^|r0dkebasibieri:;mosf : b etter prepared for this season. ^limpressive at the start of this season. We know wlhat his team As for running.the Outlaws Downvy nder shows, it's exciting!."? .are»|appb1ei0(iahd?he's spent sf ● j ● j You read about these guys all-the - ■ muCh'time in America, so ihe's,in: the bestlbrm I've ever seen. time, and then they eomeout to yourback yard and you^gettoirace jjIt'sISaptosayiA/hoelse will!, them oh a track you know welLlll 1 be the;f0rm.ruriners.We're stilf really enjoyed last year - it's a real r: a irnonth out ffo'm January, the honour. And they're great guys,eljf'" money!month,,so-the tracks willigjet slicker. Jason Johnson really down: to earth,sandpit makes has come off his best season in Australian Speedway step up another level. America, so he's strong, Max you can never countbut, and then: I've feally notiCed that the last there's Brooke.fhey'llbe the three few years they've been here - you to watch. can usually go racing, make a few

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Patience veisus Smash and T

RAVELLING with FI people is quite an experience,for they are pushy in all things.They like what they like, and they like it quickly. When you get off a plane on the way to a Grand Prix, you will find there is a race from the door of the plane to Immigration,to the baggage carousel, to the hire cars and from there to the circuit. It is part of the culture of FI. The rest of the world has sayings like 'Patience is a virtue' and 'Everything comes to those who wait', but this rarely pays off in the smash-and-grab FI world. Patience was certainly a virtue in getting a settlement in the political fight (if there really is one) and something other than patience is needed if one is waiting to see Victoria makes a profit from the Australian Grand Prix - particularly without your beloved V8s. But more often than not,the man who waits in FI is the man who is left behind. Formula 1 people have this belief that such rules do not apply to them,and that such things exist to keep underachievers happy. But now and then you get an example of patience really being a virtue, and this week we have seen that with the news that Anthony Davidson has finally landed a full-time FI drive after years and years(and years) of test driving. I like Anthony. I have always liked him. Fie is unerringly positive, is always smiling, is willing to learn and is down-to-earth and sensible. Fie Is also married to Carrie Bond ("The name's Bond, Carrie Bond"), who used to be a Formula 1 PR person with Jaguar Racing, and yet is sensible enough to take a book with her to races these

days in case she gets bored.They are one of the nice couples one finds in FI and I always quietly assumed that Anthony was too nice to make it. A few years ago I introduced him to Bobby Rahal when we all bumped in to one another in Montreal and I thought it was a good idea that Anthony try America. He was firmly against the suggestion. His aim was FI and he was going to hold out until it happened - and if it did not happen, he would accept the consequences of his decision. I am delighted to have been proved wrong. Patience, clearly, was a virtue in this case. And yet at the same time, we have Gary Paffett, who had Anthony's Honda FI test drive in the palm of his hand and somehow failed to close the deal. The announcement that the test drive had gone to Christian Klien was a great surprise, because the mood at Honda was very much in favour of Paffett. He had experience with McLaren - a top team - and such things have a value. From what I can gather, the problem was that Paffett and his management thought his experience was rather more valuable than it actually was. His smash-and-grab raid failed because Honda did not want to pay what was being asked. This may be because he is managed by Martin Brundle and Mark Blundell, both men who did well enough in racing to hot necessarily have a correct view about the value of money. We will have to see if Paffett

turns up somewhere else in FI but it is now looking unlikely, and there may be a time when Gary questions whether he really did the right thing.Yes,these things have a value, but a young driver should not be biting off the hand of anyone offering him a contract in FI. Only the very very best can afford to pick and choose, and Paffett has yet to show that he is in that class. fyou ask Anthony about his racing in the past he will talk about his days in karting when he, Jenson Button and Dan Wheldon were all in action together. Button made it to FI almost immediately, thanks mainly to good fortune. Wheldon was not as lucky and had to go to America but he has risen to the top over there and, having won the Indianapolis 500 and the Indycar title, he has been trying to find a way to get to FI. He is, if you like, a sort of English version of Sebastien Bourdais. Both men are quite capable of FI, but are victims of FI's attitude towards American racing.The FI team owners have had too many bad experiences with imports in recent history. True,Jacques Villeneuve arrived and won the world championship

box seat ibe saward

in his second year, but the planets were in alignment with that one. He was in the right place, at the right time and at the right price. Michael Andretti and Alex Zanardi,two other imports, were disappointing, as ultimately was Juan Pablo Montoya. If Formula 1 was less of a smashand-grab operation and followed a little more the thought process employed by Davidson, we would probably have more success in the United States. These things take time and investment to build.

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motorsport news

OPINION

There may be a time when Gary questions whether he really did the right thing - SAWARD ON WHY GARY PAFFETT, LEFT, MAY LIVE TO REGRET PUTTING SUCH A HIGH PRICES ON HIS SERVICES TO HONDA

Chinese Takeaway I

T was really great to reward the faith A1 Team Australia has shown in me by finishing on the podium at Beijing. It's been a while in the making. I was invited to Laguna Seca with the team earlier this year, and I was supposed to have my first drive then. But it was delayed,and I finally got the opportunity at the Silverstone test.That led to them choosing me as the rookie driver for the first round, and I got the opportunity to step up to the race seat at Brno,so it feels like I've been involved with the team for a long time. It's very nice reward them with the podium. After what happened with the circuit and the issues we were facing in Beijing, I was probably the most relaxed I've ever been before a race. It really didn't feel like a race meeting - everything was a little disorganised, but credit to the organisers at A1GP, they got it together and had a race. And the finish surprised me, that's for sure! Representing my country made standing on the podium very different to usual. I can't really describe the feeling - but I could quite easily get used to it! It was the best feeling I've ever had. Having struggled so much at Brno, 28

-iT 1 AUSTBAI;7’1' I -t?

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opinion with karl reindler

AlGPTeam Australia driver

and with Beijing being such an unforgiving track, to finish on the podium was amazing, and the team was rapt. I've had my fair share of street circuits now - I've done Macau, I've done Pau in France, as well as Surfers Paradise and Clipsal, and they're all unique. Beijing was typically bumpy and narrow, and while most street circuits have some run-off and safety kerbing, this place had nothing. If you made a mistake you were in the wall, and physically it was difficult, but concentrating was the most difficult thing. When you're out there for 70 laps, with a car that's not perfect, it was hard to keep it on the track. I made a few mistakes and came close to the wall, but it was still fantastic. Street circuits are a different kind of challenge and I love them. Both Ryan (Briscoe) and I would agree that there is a way to go with the car to be on the pace of Germany and New Zealand. It's

Green and Golders;Alan Docking,Karl Reindler and Ian Dyk in China two weeks ago. about consistency. We have new drivers in Ian Dyk, myself, and even Ryan, who is still reasonably new to AT GP despite his experience. We also have a new engineer, and new mechanics,so the majority of the team is new. Teams like New Zealand and France have the same drivers and teams, and everyone really gets to know the car and the format, which breeds confidence.So they go quicker. We've almost started from scratch, but we'll get there. Ryan's back in the car in Sepang, and I'll be the rookie driver. It would be nice if it stays like that now. It would be great for me to be in the race seat, but if we really want to progress and develop the car, then we need consistency.

and I'll be happy to help the team by just doing the rookie sessions and let Ryan do the racing. As for F3, I'm a little disappointed with how the season went in Britian.This was my first real tilt at the whole series as I only did a few rounds last year, but after finishing pretty well at Macau last year, I would have liked to have been a lot further up. Generally we just struggled a bit with the car, although we showed signs of speed at some places. I felt as though I was playing mental games with myself. I'm honest with myself, and if it was me then it was me and I would tell my engineer I was having an off day, but it got to the stage where I had a few too many of days.

motorsDortnews

OPINION

Main Series:It's totally different

MY first impression of the 'main game'VS Supercar Championship Series is that it's totally different to the Fujitsu V8 Series.

You've got to step up. You're driving at the ten-tenths the whole time,and it takes a whole new level of concentration.You can't afford to be conservative and careful, you've got to be right at your best level. Making this step has helped me learn how the leading drivers do things, like passing and their aggression. It was quite surprising how different the development series is to the main series. I honestly couldn't have learned more in five years of development series racing compared to one race at Symmons Plains.There is no way. I was amazed.The different level of racing is quite incredible.

opinion

with shane price

v8 supercar driver

For me to improve, I need to improve my racing with the fast guys. If I race with these guys next year,the thing that I'll have to get used to is racing at their level. I had some bad luck at Symmons Plains, so to finish 18th was quite good. I had to pit at least twice in all three races,so that wasn't ideal. Symmons was an up and down weekend, but if you can stay out of trouble, my result proves that I could do the job in the series. The pace of the car was pretty good over the weekend. I haven't driven a V8 in the wet before, so I

was surprised that my pace was so good. Its incredible the amount of experience I've gatherered recently, so I'm going to go to Phillip Island Fujitsu finale with a feeling like I've done an extra

five meetings on everyone else! The aim is to win.That's all I can do. Adam Iviacrow has a prett^f' big lead in the championship and, unfortunately, I hope he doesn't have a great weekend so I can win the championship!

Ready to go

HOLDEN has a very successful heritage at Bathurst, both in the 1000km race and the 24 Hour, so it was only natural that we should be in the 12 Hour.

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Bathurst is absolutely synonymous with endurance racing in Australia, and the venue is certainly a major factor for us being involved. The 12 Hour,and the rest of the Bathurst International Motor Festival, will give us a chance to showcase a couple of our fourcylinder products. Holden is going to enter a couple of Astras - we'll run a Turbo SRi Turbo Coupe in Class 4 and a CDTi Diesel in Class 7. It will give us a good indication of how the Astra Diesel runs up against the opposition. It's also an opportunity to participate in a lowkey event,support the category and have a bit of fun. I think all the manufacturers should get involved in an event like this. If everybody who is a manufacturer in Australia could run a couple of cars, it would be a good thing. If a lot of our current professional drivers get involved, then it will be quite entertaining.

opinion

with Simon mcnamara Holden Motorsport Manager

We are certainly going up there to win. It all depends what our opposition is going to be like. I don't think anyone else has put their hand up yet. There's lots of stories about who could be there.Time will tell. We'll have to see how it goes. Hopefully our cars will be able to punch around there for the 12 Hours and get a class win. We've had quite a few phone calls from people who want to be involved in the project. We are just flagging some interest now to work out how it's all going to be done. We need to lock in drivers, the team who'll prepare the car, and all sorts of stuff. Once we sit down and work it all out, we'll make some announcements soon. Before that, though, we've got a V8 Supercar Championship that we'd like to wrap up ... 29

Five minutes with

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JIMMIE JOHNSON

At the end of a tense Chase for the NEXTEL Cup, Hendrick Motorsport's ace drove conservatively at Homestead to take the title for the second time. Here is what he said after the race QUESTION: After the Talladega race, what did you really think your chances were of winning the championship this year? JIMMIE JOHNSON: It was bleak, obviously, but the thing that I can remember walking into the shop the next day... guys were all bummed up and you could see heads hung pretty low. I just went around to ail of the guys on the shop and slapped them on the back and picked them up and said, "there's a lot going on right now". The competition is so strong in the NEXTEL Cup right now that it's easy for somebody to have to go out there and either drive over their head or have an engine problem. I knew we had a lot of opportunities and there was a lot of opportunities left. We had overcome a deficit like that before and I knew we could do it, but I knew that it wasn't going to be easy. We had the road laid ahead of us and we were very fortunate to be able to go out there and win and get us a couple of seconds and that was nice. Jimmie, your thoughts about that? 1 was more disappointed in the opportunity to gain some points on the #31 [Ed: Jeff Burton] at the time. He seemed to be in control of the Chase and he had a bad day. I just didn't feel like there would be a lot of opportunities. We can all look back to this Chase and see, it's tough for anyone to be consistent at the beginning. I knew at some point someone was going to be consistent and I felt like that an opportunity existed to gain on the #31. But we ended up putting the consistency together and going on a tear after that and took care of the problem ourselves. I was nervous. I just knew sooner or later somebody was going to be on that consistent tear and I was just hoping it was us. 30

A couple of years ago, you talked about when you were a boy dreaming of a racing career, you really didn't think about NASCAR. You said even your dreams were based a little bit in reality and that seemed to be way out there. Could I get you to comment a little bit on this path that you've come from,so far away from a NASCAR background to where you are today? Yeah, I look back and I remember as a kid, I was racing dirt bikes and I wanted to be like Rick Johnson. Bob Hannah was big at the time and Jeff Ward and those guys, and that was my goal,to race motorcycles. I did that for a while and through all the broken bones, got off the bikes and found my way into the off-road buggies through a lot of work for my dad. He gave me that initial start. Once that got going, I really had to reform to get my next break and keep things moving on. It just seemed like such a long road ahead of me. NASCAR was not on the network television stations like it is now. I went to Riverside once when I was young, actually watched Mr.[Rick] Hendrick drive, walked all the way around the track, hung out around the fence and ate hot dogs as kids do. it seems so far away. In southern California, I watched Rick Meats and Robby Gordon with IndyCars. With Chevrolet's guidance, my career started to develop.They were pulling out of IndyCar, and at that point, I thought; wow,I'm going to go into stock car racing but I still didn't realize I had eight years ahead of me still, maybe nine years, before I found my way to where we are today. So it's just been a long road, and Tm a realist and I have high hopes, but I just didn't really think that I could get this car from where I came from. It's just such a long, long road, and it's been a lot of people that believed in me.Just looking back on this, celebrating

and moving forward, Tm going to continue to thank and remember names. It's been a long, long road and a lot of people have believed in me and given me this chance. Jimmie,the last two winners of the Chase have struggled' to defend their title. This year you managed to win the sport's three biggest prizes;The Championship, Daytona and Indianapolis. What do you guys do for an encore, how do you keep that fire burning, and not let what happened to the last two champions happen to you and not defend your title? Better answer that question in Daytona. Right now Tm just worried about getting a cold beverage and celebrating. Tm not even considering next year. We are going to enjoy this and just focus on what we've done tonight and this season. From the very beginning, actually before the very beginning, you have repeatedly said, this was your year. Even when you fell down in the Chase, you didn't concede as so many people did wrongly. Is this the way you feel every year. Is it a matter of if at first you don't succeed, try, try again, or is it something beyond that in this conquest that this is your year that you've expressed all season long? Tm not sure I necessarily called it as my year, but I can say that our fifth season together, and maturing together,[Hendrick Crew Chief] Chad [Knaus] and I, last year at the end of the season, we just pushed so hard that there was no question that we were [not] going to come back and work together. Just we needed to figure out a new format to do it. He has the utmost trust and faith in me and I have the same in him. This year we needed to have a different approach. As the year went on, Chad did a phenomenal job of pacing

himself, building a crew of guys around him that he trusts and believes in that could take some pressure off of him and let him focus on right areas. When he got to the Chase, we had the speed that we hoped for and that's really where my confidence came from - that we had our cars lined up, our patch figured out. We were not on our heels, we were applying pressure and racing for the championship instead ofjust trying to hang on. It's been five years preparation to get to that point, maturing as a team, maturing as driver, crew chief, pit crew, all of the details that it takes.That's really where my confidence came from - we did things right. We got a slow start to the Chase but we still fell back on the fact that we were fast in all of those races and we were not on our heels. We were putting pressure like we needed to and we were racing like we needed to.That's what kept us motivated and kept us going because we knew we were playing everything out right. Did you set the car up specifically to run best on the bottom of the track [at Homestead]and at what point did you decide that that would be to your advantage? In the test I found the bottom was a little more comfortable for me for whatever reason and Tm not typically a bottom chaser or bottom feeder, or whatever it's called. At times today when I moved up, I didn't feel like I had made up a lot of time or picked up a lot of speed so I just went back down to the bottom. I wasn't losing a lot in front down there. 1 think some guys were a little faster than us around the top but for what I needed to do today,the bottom was where I wanted to be. A lot of guys could not run down there,so I had a lane where I could keep air on the nose and keep the car turning like I needed to.

moiorsportnews

Five minutes with

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Champ Car Rookie ofthe Year,sixth in the championship,and,finally,a podium. A satisfied Team Australia MARKGLENDENNING driver spoke to MNews after finishing third in Mexico City MOTORSPORT NEWS:You set yourself some fairly clear objectives at the start of the year, and it seems like you managed to hit most of them? WILL POWER;Yeah.The first thing was to win Rookie of the Year, that was always the plan, and to finish in the top 10 in the championship, and to get a podium finish. So all in all it was a good year. In the second half of the season we showed good pace at basically all the tracks that we went to. You've had a year to adapt to Champ Cars now. Is the series what you expected? I have to say, it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. A lot harder. You're running against guys that have been in there a long time, whereas when you're coming up through the ranks, you're running against people who are at the same level as you.They just spend a couple of years in a series, and then they're out of there. But when you get to the top - and it's the same for any of these series, whether it's Formula One,Champ Car, V8 Supercars everyone is there as a professional, and you have all these guys that have been around for a long time, and they understand everything about the series. That's what i have found difficult; the actual pace of everything. I feel as though I have learned more this year than in any other year during my motorsport career. I suppose that's true even within Team Australia, because Alex Tagliani has been around forever, so on one hand you've up against a very experienced team-mate to beat, but on the flipside you've also got all of his experience to draw upon? Yeah, that's true, i found it really hard to out-do Alex in the first half of the year. I was thinking,'This is going to be the first team-mate i've ever 32

ChampCar Media-!

We spoke in Mexico City, and didn’t even mention it - POWER PUTS THE INCIDENT WITH BOURDAIS AT SURFERS BEHIND HIM had that I actually can't out-do'. I managed to go quicker a couple of times in the first half of the year, but in the second half of the year I consistently was quicker than him. But he taught me a lot - he taught me how to drive on ovals, so we were better prepared for when we did Milwaukee. He's a good,experienced driver, and I've enjoyed being his team-mate. How hard was it to move on from how your race ended at'Surfers Paradise? i moved on pretty quickly. I've been in motorsport for a long time, and these things happen, i mean,the guy [Sebastien Bourdais] made a mistake and took me out.That's life. At the end of the day we were quick enough to win, and we were saving as much fuel as he was. I don't think about it much. All I cared about after that was Mexico City and wrapping up the Rookie title.

I was going to ask whether you'd spoken to Sebastien about it since, but I guess there's almost no point. Speaking to him? No. I mean, his apology was,'Sorry Will, but you weren't going to win because Paul Tracy ran into the side of you and took your downforce away.' But he's a bit like that. We spoke in Mexico City, and we didn't even mention it. I have a lot of respect for the guy, 1 mean, he's won three championships and he's really fast. Fie just doesn't like to be blamed for anything. We spoke before about how many long-term drivers there are in the series. Do you see yourself being one of those guys who are still there in seven or eight years? I haven't actually thought about that. You Just keep fighting on to stay another year in motorsport; that's how it seems to have been in my career. All I want to do is establish myself as a good, solid driver, i'd

love to win a championship in Champ Car and then maybe think about something else. Does being an Australian who drives forTeam Australia bring its own kind of pressure, where you have to prove that you are there because you deserve to be, rather than as a'token Australian'? Yeah, i think finishing on the podium and having a pole position was important to show that it's not Just me being an Australian driver that got me the job. You know,as the saying goes, you're only as good as your last race. You've got to keep working at it, and keep being willing to learn. And that has been how I have approached my whole racing career - always learning. You know, you're never the best, you're never as good as you can get. So I Just keep being very willing to iearn about how to drive fast, how to understand the car more, how to use the data better. All of that stuff.

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MOTORSPORT NEWS:You have always been a fairly analytical driver. How do you rate your season to this point? RUSSELL INGALL: Frustrating. In the respect that it was going to start with a lot of promise, after the pace we had at the end of 2005, but we have just not delivered. It is as simple as that. There is a list of reason that could fill a couple of page but we have not been quick enough, basically. I have made mistakes; James has made mistakes. And while that has happened, others have got faster and a LOT faster.That caught us out. MN:On a number of tracks, your qualifying times have been no slower than last year but you have been starting further back on the grid. Has it shocked you how strong the grid has become? Rl: You are right. At some places, we were slowerbutatsome, like Indy, we were faster. 34

The track was quick and everyone went fast. So that was frustrating. We should be quicker and making progress but we haven't. Other teams have really stepped up, in terms of engines, handling, braking,so on. Consistency used to be our strongpoint, particularly over a race distance. Not in qualifying, maybe, but over a race distance, we were as fast on the last lap as we were on the first. We had that over a lot of the other teams,especially the Holden teams. But that have nailed that now, we have lost our advantage. MN:Will that come back? The Holden teams will have a generation change at the end of the season and you get to stick to your tried and proven iron for 2007. Rl; We don't know what is going to happen with the new car. On paper, it looks pretty good. And the current car is a good package,there is not weakness in any particular area. Everyone

can see that, it is well-documented.The power is good, with the new (Ed: Holden Motor Sport)engine. But we have the new D3 engine coming on;James has been running that and it is starting to get up to speed. That has probably hurt us a little. The current engine has reached the end of its life and that is a little like the Holden engine when that was being developed, but that had a couple of years to develop it. That was still coming in when I was at Larry's.They did not have to change on the spot and it was developed over two or three years. We've only had a year on the D3.We need to fast-track that and switch. MN:Rate your own performances,apart from the car and the team. Rl: I have been up and down a little. My strong point is racing. I never have any hesitation or reservations about my performances in a race. continued on page 36 ^fs^T^^smotbrs^portnewS'

INTERVIEW

RussellIngalllias endured atough year as MS Supercar Champion hut RHIL BRAXACAX discovered thatthe fire is stillhurning

e whole categoryis at the stage now where you w

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continued from page 34

all lifted their game,they have lifted the whole show.You need absolutely everything going My strength is the part from sitting on the for you. As soon as you are comfortable with grid waiting for the green light - I think I am the car, you can do anything you like with it. If it one of the best starters in the category. Not too isn't spot-on, you can't fake it. You can do it up many things faze me in a race. to a certain level but, are you going to win the The biggest problem has always been in day? That doesn't happen any more. qualifying and that has reared its ugly head a The team and driver need to produce a good few times this year.That is probably to do with car over the weekend.You need to ask yourself, having to over-drive the car; at some circuits, 'Do I have a good car on the day?'If it's'No' what you really feel the fact that we are down on do you do? You could hang it on the edge and grunt to the Commodores in a straight line. You be a hero, but you end up in the fence. No, you try to make that up under brakes or through go for the best you can. I am always a numbers the corners and you over-drive the car. player. If you can't win, get your best result. Hey, we are still fourth in the championship. MN:Is it also related to your past? In the lower We have not been setting the world alight categories, you always did it tough. Until you this year, not by a long shot, but we have not got into Supercars, you were almost always been out of the four all year. Considering how one big crash away from being a cab driver much we have struggled for pace,that is pretty for the rest of your life. It must be hard to remarkable from the team. And myself; I could hang it on the edge in those circumstances. have hung it on the edge, I proved at Indy I can Rl: I don't think so.(Long pause). When you put it anywhere and do what it takes, but it is are in a slump you question everything.Then no good doing that when you are battling for you get a race like Bathurst and Indy, and New 12th. Why do that? You are better off bringing it Zealand was good for us as well. home and living to fight another day. But the whole category is at the stage now It is a matter of being smart. I do not feel where you cannot fake it with the car any more. that I have lost any speed but I am now driving A driver needs to grab the car, whether it is smarter. Face it, look at our championship perfect or not. But if it is not perfect on that day, leader. Consistent? Yes. Lots of podiums? Yes. you cannot say,'lam just going to be braver on He is being smart about how he is going about this lap and get a result'. That doesn't happen it. He hasn't won a round this year. That is comical. I read an article where any more. You need The Full Package.The drivers have Garth Tander gave me a spray, if he wins the

championship, he wants to do it by winning races and not by accumulating points. I wonder if he is going to say the same thing about his team-mate as well? Seems to me like Rick has taken the Rl approach to the series. MN: Rick is just underlining that the Rl approach works. Over the last decade, you have been top five in the championship consistently. Rl: People have selective memories - or failing memories. People say,'Gee Russ, you are struggling this year!' But hang on;there are still quite a few cars behind me. Um,twenty ... MN:Twenty-seven Russell. Rl: Seven.Thirty-one cars on the grid, right? Or 32?(Laughs). Not bad odds,fellas. MN: Not bad at all. But The Game changes next year, with a new points system. Will The Plan also change next year? RkThere's no doubt. It will change and it will reward passing, and people will be braver out there. We will have to change that part of the plan. But... you will still need to finish races, if you hang it on the wall, there goes the championship.There will be an element of using your head but yes, there will be more incentive to go for that place. continued on page 38

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INTERVIEW

The New Pup

Courtney + Experience = Gain,says Ingall MN:When you joined Stone Brothers, you said publicly that you felt you needed to lift your own game to get on terms with Marcos Ambrose.You did that. What now with James Courtney? Has his experience with the team likely to prompt you to take another step next year? Rl: There's no doubt. Without a negative word against James, it took him a few meetings to get his eye in. it was a big jump for him; don't forget, he had never raced at three-quarters of the tracks we race on. That means that we were a little behind, considering that we were struggling a bit with the cars'development. We'missed' that second car; ultimately, we were relying on our car for input. With two cars, you can short-cut a lot of things but at the start of

the year, with the dramas he had, we missed that. It took us longer to get back on the game. But he came up to speed and his feedback becamse very good. Now, we can short-cut a lot of things and we are eliminating what we shouldn't be doing. We are heading in that direction now, and looking at '07. We are not conceding '06 but it is going to be pretty hard work. Now,James is pushing hard and I have to lift my game again. You are right; having your team-mate give you a good, oldfashioned reaming definitely gets to you. That is what happened with Marcos and I needed to buckle down and figure out how to lift my game. And that will happen with James - I always knew that it would. He is quick.

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People canned him and called him a dud at the start of the season but to be honest, he is one of the most experienced drivers in the field, when you consider what he has done and what he has achieved. It was never a matter of if he was going to be quick, as much as when. He is up to speed and that is

for me. I may have got a little bit lazy and pushed the limits as much as I should have. I have to push them now!That made me strong before;there was a constant battle within the team. That pushed you ahead.The same thing is going to happen again. -PHILBRANAGAN

continued from page 36

much freedom and it turns into a schemozzle.

Indirectly, that will produce passing but it will also produce more visits to the IPO. No doubt in my mind.The points system will change but the [judicial] system hasn't.

MN: For the first time,this year you have spoken about doing events others than V8 Supercar races. Does that mean that you are looking past your full-time V8 Supercar career?

MN:It has loosened off a little recently.There is now a'plea bargain'arrangement. Will The Enforcer step up to the plate? Rl: I thinkthatThe Enforcer will come out in everyone and you will have to step up. No driver likes to be pushed around, especially me. If there is an incentive there and that is what you have to do, I have no dramas at all in playing the game. I have no dramas there at all.That is the way I like to go racing, but as long as the system plays along with that as well.That is where the consistency comes into it, there is going to be more incidents. So if the handling of those incidents is consistent, there is no problem at all. But that could vary who is up in the championship and who is not.That is

Rl: it's funny. People mention,'How long will you go on for?'oreven'Retirement?'To me, I feel like I am 31, 1 have the same passion for racing and the same attitude to winning races. Today, it is not all about anything else. I am in this game to win and for no other reason. It is my living,for sure, but I want to win races. I am not an idiot and I can do other things that would, probably, earn me more money than I do in motor racing. But this is my profession and my passion and I desperately want to win. I have more championships in me. I can win another championship. I would not be in this game if I did not believe that. Some drivers you talk to,funnily enough, actually hesitate about winning a championship.To me, I know I will

the championship that the thing i remember the most is the reaction from within the industry - to a point, with certain people!The reaction was sincere. It occurred to me that, when you realise you have the respect of the industry, you know you have made your mark. The fans'reaction to the title was a turning point for me. I came from both sides of the fence,and I realised that I have a good following with both sides.That really surprised me. When I went to the Blue Oval,there was a little animosity there from the red side. But the fans, especially after the championship, made me realise that I have a following there.That is nice because it means that they are following the individual.That has been a highlight. I did not actually realise the respect associated with winning the championship and that is when you realise how big V8 Supercar racing is. People who are not necessarily motorsport fans know that you are the Champion, it gives you so much more recognition to people outside the sport, who

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something that I can't answer. No one can until we get into the nitty gritty of racing next year. But I have no problems in myself that I will be competitive. If I wasn't competitive, I would not be in the game. We have struggled this year and if I thought that wasn't going to be different next year, I wouldn't be there. I am not going to just run around in the pack. I am in it to win races and win championships, i will do whatever it takes and whatever we have got to achieve that, within the regulations that we have to race in. If the regulations let the reins out a bit - which I really hope they do - then bring it on. I think that would be fantastic. MN:Is that what the fans want? Do you have a sense that they want to see a little more elbowing? Rl: Yes, but it's funny.The fans like good hard racing but we found out with the Reverse Grid racing that they do not like a demolition derby either.They like to see good, hard racing with a bit of biff and barge but not someone bundled off into the fence for no reason. Things have changed. It remains to be seen but I believe,for sure,that they want to see the best drivers at the front of the grid and going hard - not spread around the grid. But too 38

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win another one. Maybe I don't know when, where and who with, but I feel in myself that I can win another championship. While I have that feeling, there are no thoughts of doing anything else. I would love to'do something,in the endurance races, in the UK or America,in GT races, but that would be in combination with what I am doing in V8 Supercars.There is no thought in my mind whatsoever that I am planning to do something else, or scaling down,or am I going along with the pack. I want to be in the most competitive situation that I can. While I have that attitude, I will go on for as long as I can, whether that is two years,five years, 10 years. While I have the attitude of winning, I will carry on and if anything else falls my way,and that doesn't conflict with the V8 Supercar season, i would love to do it. But at the moment, my total direction is with V8s and that's it. MN:One last thing. You have had the #1 on the car this season, with obvious pride, has it been a different feeling being Champion to what you anticipated -from the fans,the press,the enemy? Rl; It has been really good. I said when I won

may watch one or two races a year. This is a hard period for me, knowing that in a couple of races'time, it's over. It is hard to take and the only thing I can do to counteract that is to try and get it back gain. I love it, the feeling of being the best in the sport that I have given up three-quarters of my life for. When I started kart racing at 12, 1 wanted to achieve something. I wanted to get to the top of my field and leave a mark.To win a championship is how you do that, and I have been lucky enough to do that. I won some races and championship on the way - look at the Formula Ford Festival, and you know that is a big event, being a fan of Formula Fords.The World Championship of Formula Ford at Brands Hatch is something that I rank up there with this championship. My name is on the list at The Kentagon,the restaurant at Brands Hatch with some of the legends of Grand Prix racing. I have done a lot and achieved a lot. But this is not over. I still want more, I still want that feeling. Come that last race at Phillip Island, that is going to be a sad day for me.Taking that number 1 off the car is going to be a difficult situation. I think that it is only going to spur me on to try to get it back again.That is what SBR employs me to do,that is what Ford employs me to do, and some hell or high water, I am going to give it a bloody good nudge to try to get the thing back next year.

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Jost Capito steers the ship for Ford Motorsport in Europe.Ray Price holds the same position for Ford Australia.The pair are rarely in the same piace atthe same time,so when they crossed paths in Tasmania,MNews wanted to be there MOTORSPORT NEWS:I'd like to start with the WRC,which is going through an interesting phase at the moment. Are there any changes you'd like to see in the way the WRC operates?

we'll certainly be looking behind them.

JOST CAPITO: I think the WRC is a very good championship. Ford has gone into it as a business decision, which means that the money that we invest in the WRC has to be less than the value we get out of the WRC We believe that there are a lot of opportunities with the WRC, but we have to get it more into the public. It's a fantastic sport with a lot of dedicated fans, but there are also a lot of complicated regulations. The regulations are good as they have developed in the past, but I think that in the future we have to get more of the general public involved;so things like television coverage that can't be done under the system that we have now. There are some good discussions under way - there is a new promotional working group installed within the FIA for the WRC.There is good work going on there,so things are looking very positive for the WRC to become even more popular.

RP: In that there is, and we've had a technical alliance and technical operation support through Europe and through Jost with the Focus. When we did that, a lot of the support came through Europe. So that strategy and structure is already in place. If an S2000 Fiesta does happen within the European context,then we would certainly be looking at that with interest.

4®

MN:Are there opportunities for ' technical co-operation with a project like that?

MN:A couple of years ago. Ford pulled the plug on its Formula 1 involvement. Does it therefore see the WRC as a more efficient means of marketing and promoting the brand? JC: Well, Ford has a tradition with the WRC. And when we compare Formula 1 with WRC,in WRC you show off the cars that you sell. We decided to do one and do it right, and it was the right thing to do.We decided to go into a competition where Ford has a long tradition, it has had a lot of success,and where you can see our actual cars rallying -there is a closer link between the cars that are competing in motorsport and

the cars that are out there on the road. MN:There have been reports that M-Sport is building a Super 2000 Fiesta in the UK.Will that have any relevance to what is happening with the ARC program in Australia? RAYPRiCE: Oh, i think that everything is relevant In motorsport. It used to be little independent operations, but more and more now we look for global initiatives, and where we can leverage opportunities without cost. If that's something that Ford Europe does start to look at,then

JC: But there is no decision on the Super 2000 rally car at the moment. What we see Is that Super 2000 is getting bigger and it's growing, but together with M-Sport we have to see if there is potential business or not, because the factory effort is strictly WRC for Ford Europe and that's it. Everything else is customersupported or supporting international companies and bringing that around the world, like we did for the Fiesta ST Group N. tlDDliGSraiDQaiBil©

INSIGHT

But now Super 2000 is coming, so there are more requests coming and interest from various parts of the world about Super 2000.So we investigated with MSport what is the right concept if we do a Super 2000? What is the right car for doing it, based on the cars that we have? RP: It needs to be commercially sound for anyone to progress. MN: So it comes down to whether technology from other motorsport projects can be carried across to what you're doing? RP: Especially for something like that, where S2000 is a category that can be implemented through local implementation plans and local sanctioning through the FIA. All that is fine, and we need to understand now where the rest of the market is. Australia is only just starting to move that way,so there are a number of opportunities that can come out ofthat. But nothing is concrete at this point in time. MN:Is this the first time you've seen V8 Supercars,Jost? JCYes.

A lot of it isn’t about racing cars. It’s about the business of going racing - FORD AUSTRALIA’S RAY PRICE

MN:Any thoughts? JC: I am very used to circuit racing -1 was with Sauber for five years, and I worked with Porsche in Supercup also. So in the past I have been very much involved with circuit racing, and I think that the V8s are a fantastic category. My first thoughts were that I expected it to be good, but I think it is even better than I thought. When you see how close the racing is for quite... we'll say reasonable budgets, without having weight penalties -1 don't like weight penalties, and many people say that you can't have a close racing series without weight penalties. But this series shows that it's not true. You can. And that is very fascinating,to have such a close field and such good competition for reasonable money.

MN:You mentioned budget. In a global sense the budgets are reasonable,and yet the category is still working on costcontainment measures.Do you think that is a good thing for a mostly national category like this? JC: I think everybody has to work on keeping costs down. Every industry,every company,and every business has to try to keep costs down, because the competition is getting tougher and tougher. Every race category always has to work on costs. With what you have now you can at least be reasonable, but that doesn't mean that you don't have to look at how you can reduce it and how you can make things even more efficient. MN:Ray,in global terms the V8s aren't flushed with cash.

Is it Ford's view that cost containment is vital for viability? RP: It's not cost-containment being driven from a Ford perspective, it's cost<ontainment for the survivability of the teams involved. We've got to try to curb costs. We can'tjust have people trying to get an advantage because they can buy their way through technology. What we need people to do is not spend as much, but be more innovative about how they get that technical advantage. And I think that if we can do that, and rationalise some of that part of the business,everyone will be better offfor it. Instead of having teams up the front with a lot of money to spend and a team down the back with very continued on page 42

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MN:As one of the two major manufacturers you have teams coming to you in varying degrees for assistance, but the emphasis on cost-containment must make some difference to that?

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to Australia, to South Africa, to | America.Ihe car could just break, because you don't know what has been done to it. it's difficult to check the car beforehand. ‘ And there are new upcoming ^ markets like l ndia> like China; SOuth-fasit Asit) and'they can't handle GarbOnrfibre chassis at ! the moment. If they get sold oB and on, it's better to ihaye | tubular chassis, We're work!ng with the FiA and' with Cranfiel'd 'University to. : develop a. new tubular chassis with common crash structures so that it still' means cheap development for the chassis manufacturers. They've got all their freedoms with the setup-and the design, of the base chassis, bit they d.®ri%hawe to do the crashi testi ng> ; So it keeps it cheap for them, i and if it is cheap for them to engineer the car then. it is cheap i for customers to buy them. And | that allows us to have a multir chassis championship while still' keeping 3'very good cost level. MN:So they will be incorporating:the technology that you provide to the manufacturers? JCxfure. We're wonking. with, the manufacturers. IFordl.is leading, this development with thePi’A and eranfieldkThe manufacturers know what we are doing, and we discuss things with'them before we make any decisions. The regulations wilt meet the new Formula 3 safety standards, but it is not less safe than a carbon fibre chassis.

RP: Yes it does. Everyone in business has a budget, and you can only cut the cake so many ways. What seems to be happening is that businesses are going to die, and the cake gets smaller. And that's nothing to do with whether they're supporting the categories or not, or whether they're supporting an event or not. it's pureiy commercial. And what we've got to do it, we've got to make a bigger and better cake with cheaper ingredients. And that's what motor racing is all about. If we can get the teams doing more together and leveraging off each other; have teams supporting other teams through technology support partners etc, it keeps the spending down in our category and helps us to be a little bit smarter and more efficient with the dollars that we've got. MN: You have the new Falcon, the Orion, coming in 2008. We've seen some of the innovations surrounding Holden's VE - does that fit in with the thinking regarding what Ford is going to do? RP: Orion, to us, is a new vehicle that is coming out at an appropriate time in the market. We're trying to leverage the way that we utilise the road car into the race car, and we have to be very mindful that the DNA of the car on the track has to represent the DNA of the car on the road. We're very mindful of taking that into account while we're designing our vehicle.

ijr Project Blueprint has certain controls that say, this is what you've got, and the rest you can play with. What we want to play around with is whatever we can that won't affect our vehicle Or our brand. We want to vehicle to represent us. We want it to be the aspirational vehicle that the racegoers see. And if that translates to vehicle sales, then that's exactly what we're after. That's why manufacturers are involved in this business. MN: One thing that Holden is discussing for the VE is that the floorpan will be less of a production floorpan than it used to be - it will be fairly boxsectioned, and is probably a half-way step towards the V8SA 'standard' chassis that will produce a cheaper-to-build vehicle. RP: I think from our perspective the floorpan, while it will provide a number ofopportunities-it will provide better airflow, it will Include box sections, it will

In WRC you show off the cars that you sell

- CAPITO EXPLAINS FORD'S PREFERENCE FOR WRC OVER FORMULA 1 [MQrcEnMiuiHYe

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provide a little more rigidity w/hich in turn will provide more strength, it will make it safer, it will make it handle better - they are the things that you're trying to get out of that. And if you can do them and reduce the cost at the same time, then we need to step up and look at how we do ours under that philosophy. If the philosophy is build it stronger, smarter, cheaper, then we should be doing everything we can to make sure that we're in line with that. MN: In a day-to-day sense I guess your motorsport worlds are probably quite different. Is there much scope or reality in swapping information regarding what you're doing? Is there much relevance to what's happening between Ford Australia and Ford Europe, or is it just one big Ford umbrella at the end of the day? RP: From our point of view there are definitely some technical advantages that we have available to us. It's obviously a smaller market and smaller budget compared with Ford of Europe, and through Jost, he is able to support that. But that's also no different to the same support that we're 'WWY.iiiiirm-vWiintfTTi

able to get for, for example V8 Supercars, through our North American operation. It isn't about what we do or what Jost does, it also includes North America and how we can leverage that. They are different markets, they are different categories, but racing is racing and technology is technology. Where everyone can benefit from it, there should and will be more discussion.

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JC: We like to stay in close discussion as well, so we know what is going on with Ford Australia and Ford US. We are in close contact right through the whole year because as Ray said, racing is racing and you learn from each other. So I look at FPR, I look at merchandising, I look at how Ford is doing hospitality, and you can always learn. RP: A lot of it isn't about racing cars. It's about the business of going racing. There are two aspects to motorsport; one is what we do on the track and one is what we do off the track. This is something that Jost has been able to look at first hand, and see Just how different some of our activity is to what they do in Europe.

..CAtL'YOURNEARESTSPEEDZONE I

L OR CHECK OUT ...www.speedzone.com.au 43

T takes a special breed to set Land Speed Records. You have to be dedicated, brave and ... well, crazy. Okay, maybe'crazy'is not the word but,to want to go faster on the ground than many people would go in an aircraft takes a special kind of motivation. And,succeed orfailure,the stories are nearly always the stuff of legend. Such a story surrounds last August's successful bid to set a new LSR at Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah for diesel-engined cars. With the price of petrol hitting new highs seemingly every week,diesels are attracting the attention of more and more buyers. But this diesel project was different; it was not Le Mans winner Audi,or Mercedes-Benz, BMW or even Peugeot. It came from JCB. The British industrial company started more

than 60 years ago in a 5m by 4m garage.Today, more than 6000 employees in five countries build and service more than 250 models of cutting-edge machinery for construction, agriculture and ground care. And if you heard the name recently, it may be because the UKbased firm has been mentioned as a potential new owner for Jaguar Cars, which current owner Ford is thought to be selling. The project was all about enhancing the company's image and showcasing its engineering expertise. When the program was announced last April, JCB may not have been widely recognised outside its own industry but some of the names associated with the project were. Patron and adviser was former land speed record holder Richard Noble, while driving the JCB Dieselmax car would be none

other than his successor, Wing Commander Andy Green,the British test pilot who, nine years ago, broke the sound barrier on land. With the existing diesel LSR standing at 379.411 kmh (235.756mph,set by Virgil W Snyder at Bonneville in the Thermo King Streamliner on 25 August 1973)and a stated intention to set a record within three months, time was tight. While JCB set to designing the 9metre long streamliner, its engineers consulted with those from experienced motorsport engineers Ricardo. Using a standard 5-litre JCB444 engine as a base,the engineers increased its horsepower by 500 percent, despite using standard valve train (but with stronger springs and different exhaust valves) and a lightened version of the crankshaft and camshaft. The result was 750hp

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at 3800rpm - and the car had two engines. Despite the tight timeframe,steps were taken one at a time. On July 22, Green hopped aboard the naked car {the bodywork was not finished) at RAF Wittering and, after a JCB Fastrac tractor pushed it to SOkmh,doubled that under is own power - before the skies opened. Several more slow runs were made before the hardware was packed up and flown to the USA two weeks later. Once at Bonneville,the team wasted little time. On the team's first serious run. Green averaged 496.082kmh (308.252mph)on a single run, and reported that the diesels were 'pulling like a train and it behaved perfectly, with virtually zero wheelspin. I could feel the car moving around a little at today's maximum speed but it remained very controllable."

The following day, it went even faster, hitting SlOkmh (317mph) which, under Bonneville's'24' hour rules, backed up the previous day's record. It was time to move on to the more chalienging FIA record - and fit the engines deveioped for the big run, as the team revealed to this point, it was running'only'1200hp to ensure reliability. The following day. Green dug deep; he achieved 521.853kmh (324.265mph)on his first run and made his return at 536.497kmh (333.36mph) within the a FIA's maximum time of one hour to secure the new record average of 526.027kmh (328.767). On the third day, more was to come.Green's first run,set in perfect conditions, was a staggering 588.664kmh (365.779mph)and, again within 60 minutes, he backed it up at and 540,248kmh (33S.695mph)to give an

average of 563.418kmh (350.092mph).The 19 record was in the bag,champagne opened and celebrations begun. JCB Chairman Sir Anthony Bamford was a satisfied man. "We have proved that we can do it, and we have the world's fastest diesel car and engine. The JCB Dieselmax team has worked at times in adversity and faced numerous heartaches with fortitude.These record-breaking successes prove to the world the excellence of British engineering and teamwork." And all this had been done with a modified version of an engine that usually goes into one of the company's backhoe loaders and Loadall telescopic handlers. A high-performance Jag - with a diesel? Sounds like a good idea. Make mine Green.

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Lifers going pretty well for Alx Danielsson at the moment. He’s got a World Series by Renault trophy and an impending FI test. ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN talked caviar with the Swede i/I t was like a fairytale. If you wanted to

I do a Hollywood movie about someone's I racing season, I think it would be pretty much like mine,"said Alx Danielsson as he reflected on taking out the 2006 World Series by Renault - and he's right. So right now you're wondering who on earth Alx Danielsson is, and where the second vowel in his first name has gone.There's no real answer to the second question, but as for the first, well that can be summed up by saying he is a 24-year-old Swede who is an ex champion alpine skier turned racing driver. And he's adapted from skis to pedals incredibly well, taking a host of junior Formulae race wins since starting Swedish Formula Ford in 2000. Now, he's the World Series by Renault Champion, and knocking on the door of FI. Very few racing drivers have such a broad spectrum of results throughout a championship season. At the mid-way point of this year's World Series, Danielsson had Just wrecked two cars in as many days at SpaFrancorchamps, had 15 championship points to his name, and was 40 points shy of the leader. It was the lowest of Hollywood lows. So, when MNews spoke to him a fortnight after wrapping up the title at Barcelona, he was still a little shocked. "We were quick pretty much the whole time, consistently fast, but something always went wrong,"said Danielsson. "In Sweden we have caviar - I'm going off the topic now-and it's in a tube. They also have a melted cheese in tubes, so you can squeeze it out onto your sandwich - like toothpaste. And it was like we had a big tube of bad luck, and it kept squeezing out in big portions, but then we came to half-way mark, and you know when your fighting with the toothpaste tube to get the last little bits out, and then it's empty. That's what our season was like. My point is vague, I know, but when it runs out it runs out, and we completely ran out of bad luck after five weekends. "At the end of the Spa weekend, I was in hospital, strapped to a board with a neck brace -1 couldn't feel my legs at one point -1 just thought, 'what the hell is going on here?' What followed was a remarkable turnaround in fortune. In the closing rounds of the season. www.mnews.com.au

Danielsson and the Comtec team won four of six races, handing him sufficient points to narrowly edge out Andy Soucek. "It just turned around like it does in the movies, and we started winning races, and getting poles, and fastest lap points. And then, somehow, coming into the final race . at Barcelona, I was only two points behind. I couldn't believe it! I thought'well we've come this far, we've got to win this!"' But, in true Hollywood fashion, the final race

If you can do well in a World Series car, you can do well in a Formula 1 car - DANIELSSON RATES HIS CHANCES IN THE RENAULT R2B

was tense with drama. Danielsson needed to finish only two places ahead of Soucek to take the series, but an early pitstop left him buried in the field, with no idea in what position he was running.To add to the tension, the Comtec team opted to only change front tyres to the car during the pitstop, which at Barcelona can make for an interesting ride. "We pit as early as we could, and the team only wanted to fit two new tyres, so I asked for rears. They said 'we're giving you fronts, live with it!"'laughed Danielsson. "I had no idea where I was in the field. I was like P6 at the end of the first lap, and then the team stopped showing me the positions on the pit board. "I had a feeling that it was a good thing, but I had no idea and I tried not to think about it, which was impossible. "When I crossed the line, the engineer came on the radio and said 'fantastic Alx, we did it. You are the Champion of the worldl'That's the best thing I ever heard in my life." With the silverware safely stowed on his

mantlepiece, Danielsson's attention now turns to next year.The World Series honour board is an illustrious one, with the likes of Fernando Alonso, Heikki Kovalinen and Robert Kubica on the winner's list. Will Power used last year's World Series to vault him into the Champ Car ride, further proof that it's a well-travelled stepping-stone. So is Danielsson feeling the pressure? "It's not pressure - that's completely the wrong word - it's a good thing. "It seems like if you can do well in a World Series car, you can do well in a Formula 1 car. That's the way it's looking. When Sebastian Vettel [Ed; ex-World Series competitor] was fastest in practice at Monza this year, that was the day that I took the win at Donington, and a French guy from the press asked me the same question.'Do you think this is good for you?' And I said 'this is fantastic, because the fact that they are doing well puts more attention to the series.' "As for what I do next year, it's tricky. My ultimate goal for next season was to get an FI test seat and race GP2 at the same time. The question is, will it be beneficial for my career to do GP2? You know what I mean? I'd have to win it to improve my CV, there's no good finishing seventh in GP2 the year after winning World Series. It's changed during the year with us winning the series. "But I definitely want to do some FI running, so I can get into the position to be quick in an FI car." Danielsson is guaranteed to get that chance, because winning the World Series by Renault doesn't just give you a pretty trophy and a bucket of industry cred. It also scores you a pedal of the best Formula 1 car in the business -the Renault R26. "It's my lifetime ambition,"said Danielsson. "Any Formula 1 car would do, but this is the best one in the world, so it's pretty impressive. And you can't just buy a test with Renault; it's not like Spyker or any of those other teams. "It will also make it interesting for other teams to test me, in a way, because I will be one of the few guys who has driven the Renault car whose not bound to a contract. "So everything is looking really good at the moment." 47

LEAPS AND BOUNDS Shemn Motorsport has gone large in the past year,acquiring Cup Car Australia,a fleet of BMWs and GRANT ROWLEY running a competitive Carrera Cup team. MNews took a closer look

HERRIN Motorsport has quickly established itself as a force in Australian motorsport. in 2003, lain Sherrin had a steer of aTargaTasmania-spec car. While he is a long times sports-nut, it was his first introduction to motor sport. Since then, his life has been fast cars, oily rags and big dreams. "Sherrin Motorsport came about when the family business (Sherrin Hire) was sold,"explained team owner lain Sherrin. "It was my father's business. I had worked there for 18 years, working up to the General Manager's position. "When the sale of the business went through, I wanted to step out and do something of my own. i wanted to get into something sports orientated, and motorsport was the natural thing to do." The Sherrins started in Carrera Cup as a sponsor. Sherrin Hire backed Cameron McLean's entry in last year's championship, and remained the major sponsor until McLean endured his horrific accident at Queensland Raceway. A week after the crash, Sherrin Hire was sold, paving the way for lain

to start up Sherrin Motorsport. "It's funny, all that came about when we had the massive accident at Queensland Raceway," he said. "Basically, i took the team over a week after that. We bought all the trucks and cars off Sherrin Hire. That's when Sherrin Motorsport got started." There's been a lot happen since then. Sherrin Motorsport has entered three cars in this year's Carrera Cup Series, before purchasing the entire fleet of BMW 120is used in the Celebrity Challenge at the Grand Prix.To add to the team's workload, they purchased Cup Car (the administrators of Carrera Cup in Australia) three weeks ago. So,the question had to be asked - why the rapid expansion? "As things progressed and as opportunities opened up, I could see that is what I wanted to do in the future," Sherrin said about the acquisition of Cup Car. "It just come around. I got the phone call from Jamey Blaikie and asked if I was interested. It was probably a year or two earlier than when I thought it would naturally happen, but it was something that was on my radar."

But Sherrin isn't letting these new ventures cloud the business philosophies of the young team. "If you grow too quick, you have to leave things behind. Like football, the biggest thing is the one percenters. One percenters mean a lot. You need to do them well so people get quality out of quality products. "Besides, I'm not one to walk away from a challenge. "With everything we do,the concept of Sherrin Motorsport is to supply motorsport services to people who want to go out there and enjoy motor racing. We see ourselves as'the one stop shop' and when you see our facilities, you'll understand why.You can buy your race gear here, we can fit it for you here in the workshop, we can take you out to the track and look after you on a club day, and we have skilled driver trainers. "The whole concept was to have a full armoury of products to offer people at any level. You can walk in the door and go from zero motorsport to Carrera Cup racing." While punters off the street may want to consider doing some minor motor racing events before

thrusting themselves into Carrera Cup racing, they will be dazzled by Sherrin's facility. "My plan was always to build a location that was large enough to expand into for the next 10 to 20 years. Luckily, we're filling that up very quickly! We are actually already looking at options of second floors for car storage to give us some extra space. "The facility is fantastic. It's something that I pencilled out myself, went and saw some builders and had it all custom-built. "I wanted to make sure 1 had the best retail shop in south-east Queensland, if not the country." Okay, so they've got one of the coolest cubby houses in town. They have lots of race cars and now they have their own category. What could possibly be next? "We've grown quite quickly and we can't keep doing that,"he admitted. "You have to consolidate for a period of time.The most important aspect of it is to make sure everything that we've taken on gets done well and to the best of our ability." The only conjecture regarding Sherrin's purchase of Cup Car was

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Forte Sherrin: The Sherrin Motorsport home base is one impressive unit. Besides ali the race cars you'il find inside, there is a retailstop, as well as a coffee corner, lain Sherrin, pictured below,along with Alistair Bye, are the brains trust, while David Russell, below, is the public face oftheir top-end racing program. Cameron McLean raced with the team in 2005,suffering this massive rollover at Queensland Raceway in July.

how they could both own the series, and have cars compete in it. Since Cup Cars inception in 2003, Tony Quinn has been a competitor, car entrant and Cup Car owner. The precedent has already been set, and Sherrin confirmed that it will be business as usual. To combat some of the issues that may be raised from this conflict next year, Sherrin will continue to prepare and service cars for Carrera Cup racing, but they will not be entered by Sherrin themselves. fyoutakea look at the type of motor racing that Sherrin can help you get involved in, they certainly are the'one-stop shop'as their logo suggests. And with an estimated 25 employees on deck by early next year, Sherrins commitment is evident. At the top end of the scale they have their Carrera Cup team. Sherrin Motorsport began 2006 by supporting Australian motorsport's youth campaign in Carrera Cup. David Russell, Ian Dyk and Daniel Pappas contested the opening rounds, but now, only Russell remains in the team, after Dyk left for an A1GP dream, and

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Pappas departed the team on amicable terms. Results have steadily come Russell's way, having two overall podiums to his name in his rookie year. The BMW series (The Sherrin Cup) is an interesting local Queensland concept. Six rounds

will be held, shared between Queensland Raceway and Morgan Park, in conjunction with the Queensland State Championships. And if you win the series, you'll get a test in one of their Cup Cars. One bonus for the fledging series is that the cars will return

to the Grand Prix, to be prepared and serviced by Sherrin for the Celebrities. "The Grand Prix needing to fill the hole," he said."There was a hole left there, and we were an option. We are merely providing them services. It's a new direction for the Grand Prix. We have the cars, we have the expertise and we are supplying that service." But if circuit racing isn't your cup of tea,then Sherrin can prepare a car, or slide you into one of their BMWs in a tarmac rally. There is a lot on Sherrin Motorsport's plate over the next couple of years.The only category that doesn't seem to be on Sherrin's map is V8 Supercar racing. Could we see a Supercar in their shed anytime soon? "It's something that's not really on the radar,''Sherrin said. "I'm more focused on the Porsche and BMW market and the general motorsport at the lower level. I don't see Sherrin Motorsport being involved in V8 Supercar any time in the near future." Let's be serious,though Sherrin Motorsport don't need V8 Supercar, yet.They have other mountains to climb first. 49

V8 SjJPERCARS CHAMPBQNSHiP SERIES

while championshipleader Lowndes made fife

AYBE they really should build sprinklers into race tracks. Yet again, a bit of rain turned an interesting race meeting into an action-packed one, which threw out challenges left, right and centre. Who'd have thought that a bit of polystyrene could come so close to deciding the V8 championship? Or that missing the top 10 shootout could be quite so devastating? It was that kind of weekend at Symmons Plains. It might well have provided a 3:3 startiwin outcome for Garth Tander. On the back ofjust such a 3:3 last year, theTollster was again right on his game from the outset 50

only eclipsed, briefly, by a super top-10 pole lap from Mark Skaife and a late engine problem in the opening race which turned the lead into fourth. The competition on this occasion came notfrom the remaining Team Tom cars but from the increasingly impressive FPR duo,Jason Bright and Mark Winterbottom. Both cars looked tremendous through the technical parts of the circuit, only losing out when the Holdens had a chance to use their straight-line oomph. Bright - who will now depart to his own team in two races time with some useful data in his memory banks - almost took it offTander, having his measure in Race 2 only to slip off the road

atjust the wrong moment. And Winterbottom continues to gladden FPR hearts as the team's carry-over driver into '07 Just continues to refine his V8 racecraft with every outing. And, lest we forget, he is still holding a strong third in the championship, well positioned should the two combatants up front get personal ... "The rest'included the Kellys and James Courtney, with the Jack Daniels duo, Richo and Paul Dumbrell hanging in there in an inconspicuous but quite fruitful way. Todd Kelly and Courtney had a bit of a fracas early on,and both had'moments'on Sunday - James eventually succumbing

to the results of an occasionally sticky throttle, which saw him inadvertently nail a couple of cars from behind in ungainly fashion. As for Rick Kelly, who looked to be driving just a fraction in'championship'mode once Lowndes had gone to the back, the kid continues to decry his '05 reputation with another cool, intelligent effort - exemplified by the smarts, in a pressure situation, to stick the car into someone else's wake and use the vacuum to dislodge the polystyrene that threatened to destroy his engine - and championship - if he didn't stop and remove it real soon. Lowndes's weekend went bad in qualifying when a couple of driver errors meant there weren't

motorsportnews

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Championship changing moment:Race 1 in Tasmania started nicely enough,top, but before the pack reached the hairpin for the first time, there was drama.Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell collided,in turn sending Greg Murphy ino the wall. Whincup and Murphy'sweekend ended on the spot. Worse, though,for Triple 8, was Craig Lowndes's involvement, below. He finished Race 1 in 27th.

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enough green sectors on one lap to make the top 10. Craig was the innocent victim in the lap one shunt that ended the weekend for Jamie Whincup (in the Bathurstwinner as Craig debuted a brandspanker) and Greg Murphy, and the price was a high one. Rick Kelly goes to Bahrain with 73 points extra in the bank. And the pole man, Skaife? Well, pretty much literally, the wheels fell off. Pit crew error, an extra stop, then a tangle with John Bowe in the second race and another DNF in the third is becoming par for the course in a year MS will want to erase asap. On the almost bright side for a team with off-track problems. Will Davison shone, lifting the APFC www.mnews.com.au

Falcon up through the carnage to a grid six start in the final race, only to have no less than three separate cars spear him off the road in a frenetic final race. Fie deserved more, it was that kind of day ...

Race <^ 42 laps

raig Lowndes's qualifying troubles came into full perspective within seconds of the start of the weekend opener. The whole field got away smoothly, but as they poured under the bridge and out along the straight towards the hairpin, Tander having got the better

of Skaife, Bright and Courtney, Dumbrell and Whincup were muscling each other. Whincup was ahead and had momentum, but appeared to close off Dumbrell's space without having a full overlap - a critical misjudgement. TheTS car bounced across the JD one, into the wall and ricocheted across the road. Murphy became involved and, next in line was ... Lowndes. . Two laps lost replacing a damaged front spoiler could well prove even more costly when the numbers are added up at Phillip Island. Who knows? Neither Whincup norMurph would take any further part in the weekend's action.

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3i1jg The rest of this first skirmish was mostly settled off-track - in pit lane to be precise. With the pit window'delayed' until lap 10 thanks to the lengthy Safety Car required to clean up the Whincup/Murphy cars, the pit sequence started on lap 10 and with it came a catalogue of disasters. Courtney and Todd Kelly had already had a bit of biffo before they pitted, but it got worse for James when the Jeld Wen car momentarily stalled as it dropped off the jacks - costing him three spots, just like that. If that was bad, spare a thought

continued page 54 51

QUALIFYING

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Mark Skaife has the qualifying caper sorted,scoring his fourth pole position for the year in Tasmania

OLDEN took first blood in Tasmania-with a Skaife/Tander front row. But an all-Ford second row suggested that the weekend wasn't going to be the Holden walkover that some had predicted. Jason Bright on three was no big surprise, but James Courtney on four was a clear indication of the progress being made by SBR's new recruit. Especially as team-mate and defending Champ Russell Ingall was doing it tough, down in 17th. The rest of the top 10 was pretty much made up of regulars - the Kellys, Winterbottom, Whincup, Richo - with the latter Joined on this occasion by his team-mate, Paul Dumbrell. There was, clearly, one name missing - Craig Lowndes. The last thing you want when you're defending a slim championship lead is a bad qualifying session. If you're not up 52

front, you're in the ruck, and far more likely to get hooked up in someone else's aggravation. But that is just what happened. There was much chat about the fact that he had debuted Triple Eight's brand new car - was it a good idea? - but on the face of it, there didn't seem to be any real issues with the new car. No, it was just a bad session which, when the pressure was on in the final moments,saw Lowndes loop the #888 car at the end of the back straight when the data said he'd strung together his best first two sections of the weekend. Earlier laps had been compromised marginally by other cars, and by slipping off on the outside ofTurn 2. It just wasn't, in the end,the Lowndes who normally pulls it out of the bag. He would start from 11. Jason Bright actually qualified best for the Top 10 Shoot-out. FPR continues to illustrate just how their cars have turned the

corner this year and, at a circuit which - despite its simplicity - is quite a technical one,they both looked very, very good,especially through the daunting Turn1/2 sector, which places a premium on the suspension control/braking combo. Indeed, FPR and the four Clayton Commodores all looked n settled in the right/left transition through T1/T2,Todd Kelly actually the fastest Flolden,second outright, at the end of the 20 minutes. At the end of the day,there were hundredths only between this sextet, and it would be the driver who got it right on the lap that nnattered, in the Shootout, who would come out on top. And while both Triple 8 drivers were off the road in that final five minute sort-out, and thus further back than expected, it was one of those'spot-on'laps, on this occasion from Larry Perkins's number two, Paul Dumbrell, in

the first half of the 20-minute session, which got him into the 10 alongside team-mate Richo. The other to qualify for the Shootout was Courtney,seventh best at this point. Ross Stone continues to enthuse about the development of his'rookie' V8 driver who,on this occasion was at a circuit he'd never raced at before.Team-mate Ingall suffered a little through being in the slower half of the practice times from Friday, and thus ran in the early qualifying session when the track was probably not quite as it was 20 minutes later, but the gap was significant - and grid 16 not where'I'should be. Behind Lowndes(11th) were the two PWR Commodores. Disappointing as that may appear, Murph wasn't distraught. "You have to be realistic," he concluded."We've tried just about everything with these cars, and nothing makes a significant difference. When you look at it.

motorsportnews

vs SUPERCARS

Back to basics A COACH trying to improve a basic goif swing wiil emphasise the'siow and iow' philosophy.The equivaient in motorsport is 'siow jn,fast out'. TheTurnl/Turn 2 complex at Symmons is one of the best places to check out the difference between the guns and, well, the not-so-gunnish drivers, and a place where the catchphrase applies in spades. Everything is going on at once - over the hump,turning, weight transfer, stopping ... there's even a small bump on the apex ofthe right-hand Turn 1 element thrown in to complicate matters. The guns, on a good lap(even they have'off'ones) make it look easy. Smooth over the crest,fine pressure control on the brakes over the bump, no locked wheels, keeping it all together for the turn-in to 2. It means a solid exit and great car speed on the long run to the hairpin. Get it wrong and you end up out on the dirt on the outside indeed there was hardly a car that didn't visit the sand during practice and qualifying as drivers grappled with the right approach. Getting it wrong can be as simple as going in 5kmh too fast; the right-front is light, it locks, and it's downhill,from there - in a plume of tyre smoke. Not pretty, and not fast...

Symmons Plains (i ,P0S NO DRIVER

they're both quite high-mileage cars - both VX conversions. In comparison,there are, what,four or five teams, who really have it together now -Tom's four cars, FPR, Triple 8 are just a solid step ahead of the rest.The best we can hope for is somewhere in that next group so 12th is about it... realistically." He has a fair point. Indeed, as he observed, in '05 he was on pole at the Gold Coast. "This year I was 0.9s faster, but struggling to get in the 10.There's been some serious progress in some of those teams!" i

Top lit'^bootout

ressure is a defining ingredient and, at a track with, effectively, just three corners, a 52 second lap, and hundredths between cars, it was to characterise the shootout. First to feel it was Whincup, who looped theT8 Falcon out ofTurn 2. Dumbrell too ran a little wide out of this critical corner. Todd Kelly was sideways as he crested the rise and snatched the brakes just metres past the start of the lap. That he got it back together at all, never mind compieting the lap, was a big effort!

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Even Bright was a fraction ragged at the same spot and spent the lap trying to regain the tenth or so.

^DRIVER TEAM/CAR Toll HSV Dealer Team Commodore VZ

51.6803

6 Jason»Brig]Hi

Ford Performance Racing Falcon BA

51.7870

Todd Kelly

Holden Racing Team Commodore VZ

51.8574

fotii Performance Racing Falcon BA

51.9791

inSjjajSjJiMark Skaife

Holden Racing Team Commodore VZ

51.9830

James Courtn^ PaulDumbrell

Jeld-Wen Motorsport Falcon BA

52.0263

Jack Daniel's Racing Commodore VZ Toll HSV Dealer Team Commodore VZ

52.0356 52.0624

Jack Daniel's Racing Commodore VZ Team Betta Electrical Falcon BA

52.1147

3 5 7

8 :^5 i jiickKelly. 9

Steven Richards

In the end,the cleanest, aggressive runs came from Skaife andTander. Garth had looked'on it'from the moment his Toll car rolled out ofthe truck, an air of confidence in the late moments of qualifying allowing him to quietly warm and scrub a set of fresh fronts for the shootout while the rest were hammering their final Q laps in. Skaife, despite a less-thanperfect qualifying session, had run his lap first and, despite an excellent lap,Tander fell that fraction of a blink short.That's all. Skaife has pulled some great shootout laps out ofthe air before, and this was another.Tander and Bright are the other two qualifying stars in '06, but on this day,the bloke in Car 2 had their measure. Praise too for Courtney, who jumped the SBR car up to fourth with a very clean lap.The dramas came after he crossed the line, on full noise for longer than on a normal lap, and struggled to slow the car and stay on the road at the same time as the realities ofthe Turn 1/2 trap!

TIME

Garth Tender

5 11 888 [12 51

Craig Lowndes

52.1096

Team Betta Electrical Falcon BA

52.1853

Supercheap Auto Racing Commodore VZ

52.3493

Cameron McConville rJasoKiKi 15 14 Brad Jones

Supercheap Auto Racing Commodore VZ

52.3714

Tasman Motorsport Commodore VZ Team BOC Falcon BA

52.4022

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APVC Racing Falcon BA

52.4935

17 18

1 Russell Ingall 67 TpauliMonl^ 34 Dean Canto

Caltex Racing Falcon BA ● Team Sirromet Wines Commodore VZ

52.5287 52.5762 52.5904

Repco Valvoline Cummins Commodore VZ

MaxWilsoi^ JohnBowe

WPS Racing Falcon BA Team BOC Falcon BA

52.5906

FirstRock Home Loans Falcon BA

52.6262

Steve^jTiBia Shane Price

Team Sirromet Wines Commodore VZ

52.7147

!Lee Holdsvya Craig Baird

Repco Valvoline Cummins Commodore VZ Team Kiwi Racing Commodore VZ

52.7246

;Marcu5_Marshj)ll

GlenfordsAEG Racing Falcon BA

52.7362

27 10 Jason Bargwanna 28 55 -, SteveQweno 29 25 Warren Luff

WPS Racing Falcon BA

52.7849

Autobarn Racing Commodore VZ

52.7858 52.9133

30" 23 3 AndrewJones,If. --

Fujitsu Racing Falcon BA Tasman Motorsport Commodore VZ

52.9537

Fujitsu Racing Falcon BA

53.8304

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25 021 I 26 20

TonyRicciardello

52.4125

52.6131

52.7294

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1 SkajfQ 17.9464 35.9201 52.0372 2 Tander 17.9508 36.0269 52.1176 3 [Brj|jjt~~l. 18.0287 35.0633 52.2567

6 R Kelly 7 T Kelly 8 5 Richards

18.3081 36.3649 52.7898

9 Dumbrell 10 Whincup

J8.6396 36.7607 53.1970 ' 1^2303 41.6706 58.0709

4 Courtney 17.980r 36.0392 52.2814 WInterbottdP 17.9741 36.1182 52.4166

mm-< I DON'T know whether Skaifey was ever a student of the classics during his schooling, but a there is an often-recalled line from Shakespeare which is something to do with the"slings and arrows of outrageous fortune"... Right now,the former champ must be wondering where the next arrow, or arrows, are coming from, as he slips to an all-time low,of 20th, in the V8 Supercar championship. While his detractors are probably gloating, his fans must be bemused.Whichever camp you are part of, there has to be common respect for the man's past achievements and

continued from page 51

for Skaife. For the second meeting in a row,the HRT boys were just a bit quick on the trigger and an angry Skaife had to come in again to have the wheels tightened properly. He emerged 24th and would plug away for 16th at the end. There were similar dramas for Ingall, who did the smart thing and stayed out, on clear road, until lap 25, only to have the team drop his car off the jacks with the leftrear not yet on, losing more than he'd gained. While all these problems were going on, FPR showed'em how it should be done,a brilliant sub4s stop allowing the continually impressing Mark Winterbottom to 'jump'Rick Kelly and settle in third, a few seconds down on Bright. While Tander looked in control at the front, all was not actually well.TheTeam Tom V8 in the Toll machine was in the process 54

the continued ability, as at the weekend,to put a car on pole. While there have been technical failures, as Team Tom pushes the boundaries of a 7500rpm V8, and a couple of driver errors, new ways are being invented to turn front running form into disaster in that corner of the HRT garage.Sunday was the second meeting in a row,apparently,that the crew proved unable to securely attach all four wheels to the #2 car during a stop. Were they trying to be just too quick? That followed on from the spectacular clutch failure off the line at Bathurst. Were they trying to be just too trick? What next?

of losing a cylinder and, as the race entered its last 10 laps it became obvious. First Bright, then Whincup,and finally Kelly (Rick) swept by on the straight, with ease.They might be fast, but there's a degree of fragility. Indeed, Tander would later breathe a sigh of relief that he was able to get away with what was quite a serious problem so lightly. And before you realised it, there was an FPR 1 -2. Just like that. But, in championship terms, a lead was lost, a new leader emerged and the weekend became damage limitation versus point accumulation.

Race! 58laps

Everything changed overnight on the weather front and, almost predictably, a wet and drying race was crammed with enough action to fill a book, never mind a magazine.

No-one (well, not in the media) is privy to what goes on behind the scenes, both technically and politically, at HRT, but a major dose of KISS would seem to be called for right now before their long-standing driver goes out and shoots himselfl Everyone has their ups and downs,and there's a fair audience that doesn't mind seeing The Reds trip up, but you actually have to feel sorry for the bloke. To hell with Shakespeare -just go into a dark room Skaifey, punch out the walls, and kick the out of something.You'll feel better. -CHRIS LAMBDEN

This time though, it was human error which decided the outcome of, not only the race, but the weekend. Brighty, as he was honest enough to admit,simply blew it. It started well, the CAT car absolutely gunning off into the distance while team-mate Winterbottom successfully held backtheToll duo, while at the same time struggling to get his brake bias correct: "It wasn't near right," he said later,"and I took most of the race to get it right... it was good for race three!" Nevertheless, it looked to be playing into Brighty's hands. By lap 10 he was a massive 1 Os clear, but it settled at that as Tander (who'd slipped inside Winterbottom on lap 7) matched him lap for lap. The compulsory pit stop was obviously going to also be the switch from wets to dries and picking the time was going to be critical.

Back in the pack, Skaife, with little to lose, was the first to take a punt, on lap 18. "I've always tried to be the first to change [to wets]," he said afterwards, but admitted "this time, it was probably five laps too early!" Indeed,the first of the real contenders didn't dive in until lap 27. That was Bright, and it started to go wrong when the car died as his car controller held him for a moment,costing vital seconds. When the stops were all over, Tander led Bright by a whisker, with Winterbottom, Rick Kelly, brother Todd and Courtney, all with air between them,except the latter duo who were, again, all over each other until James started the trend for getting wide on the start/finish straight, backwards, and taking out bulk polystyrene signage. Inexplicably, Bright made a simple error under brakes at the end of the straight, losing six or

motorsport news

V8 SUPERCARS

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i Tassie Devils: Clockwise from left; Wilson, Owen and Price tangled;Rick left the road;and collected a souvenir; FPR took its first one-two; Will Davo was the star ofthe round; and Courtney andTKelly ran close in Race 3.

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eight seconds on the grass and that (along with another brief off) was that. With Tander now comfortably clear out front, from the two FPRs and Rick Kelly (with Todd riding shotgun), there was little danger. Indeed the next car was Skaife, albeit some 14s away. A second polystyrene smasher, in the shape of Dean Canto's GRM Commodore, was the final element in a crazy race. So much white stuff all over the start/finish straight required a Safety Car and, when it went green, a huge piece of the signage was flat up against Rick's radiator. It was a dodgy lap or two until the vacuum effect from closing right up on a lapped Paul Morris sucked it off. Quite a headline there, huh .... The engine temp had skyrocketed up to 138 degrees, so it couldn't have gone on much longer.There was, it seemed, no damage, so Rick would further increase his points haul from

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Lowndes, who had driven steadily through for ninth. The Safety Car had brought Skaife right back into the game, but it didn't last long, the #2 red car plunging off at the end of the straight with deranged front suspension after contact with John Bowe. "I couldn't believe it - we were lapping him and he moved over and blocked me,"an increasingly philosophical Skaife reported. With Skaife gone, up bobbed Will Davison to grab sixth after a particularly good two races qualified 16th, up to ninth in race one, and now sixth. Good work race three was to be a bit of an anti-climax,though ...

RaceJ^ 5S laps dentical wet and drying, conditions greeted Tander, who led the queue behind the opening lap Safety Car, courtesy of Bargwanna and Ingall, who argued

seriously first time out of Turn 1/2, involving the innocent Jason Richards on this occasion and a seemingly Interminable recovery process before it went green at the end of lap seven. Although Bargs had made the initial error by squeezing Ingall, it was Rusty who copped the drivethrough for, in the Stewards'view, exacerbating the situation, when lifting off could have avoided it. Lowndes had been a major beneficiary of the early fracas, snatching a couple of spots to restart In seventh. Ironically on new championship leader Kelly's tail. There were a few interesting moments as Lowndes exploited early pace to harass #15, but they passed without incident as Rick settled, and eventually pulled clear, to have a go at Davison, rocketing along in fifth. Bright and Rick Kelly actually stayed out a lap or two too long before the change to slicks this time, with the result that Tander led Winterbottom and Todd Kelly

into the second part of the race, although the HRT car did slip past before having a big moment of his own at the infamousT1/2 and dropping to fifth. Another Safety Car had allowed Bright to close back in on the front threesome and, as things dried out, he started to show pace, going past his team-mate to have a go at Tander. The gap narrowed, but there was no real prospect of change unless Garth made an error. He didn't and he won - by a single point. Davison had pitted and reemerged in fifth but, soon after, his troubles began, nudged off the road while lapping Luff then, subsequently, hammered at the hairpin by Max Wilson and, finally, Courtney, struggling with a sticky throttle. RIcho took his spot (6th). Neutral ground, in Bahrain, now beckons. In theory, Kelly doesn't have to beat Lowndes from here on - just finish in his shadow. But we all know it's not going to be as simple as that. Game on ... 55

V8 SUPERCARS

WINNERS.^ Symmons:Straights and Brakes THE TOLL TEAM; No brainer. Misson accomplished. Garth up front grabbing the headlines; Rick a few spots back racking up points as Lowndes floundered. FPR: Those dark days (as recently as 2005)seem a long time ago now. A pair of technically tremendous cars, an experienced team leader(okay he did put it off the road briefly) and an exciting youngster. Pretty good ingredients. WILL DAVISON: Did someone put magnets in car #18 after Race 2? It ended badly, but until then it was a smart showing from Davo. JACK DANIELS RACING: Not quick enough to be in outright contention, but both cars in the top 10 all weekend is a fair effort

LOSERS ^ CRAIG LOWNDES: Not often CL gets into this section, but that qualifying glitch had tremendous consequences. What was he thinking? MESSRS WHINCUP, BARGWANNA, INGALL; First lap guys? - let's be a little bit smarter next time? RUSSELL INGALL: Points accumulation isn't going to do the trick. Qualifying form has deserted Ingall again - exaggerated by his team mate's form. Bring back the Enforcer, we say! PAUL MORRIS: Somehow, the PMM car just seems to end up in contact with, or in the way of, one too many cars - though Rick Kelly has every reason to be thankful! 56

WHEN we arrived at Symmons Plains,the car had its basic set up that we have run over the last few rounds - and that seems to work well. Symmons has limited corners, but some quick parts, so you are looking for a car that the drivers can stop and turn quickly and get onto the straights.Turns 7 and 8 demand good stability, so that the drivers have the confidence to push hard through the last turns. We did not vary it too much from our base set-up from other circuits. The first two corners are technical but that is covered by the base set-up.You need to be able to turn and brake well at most circuits, so it was not a case of doing something special for those turns. There are little idiosyncracies you need to take into account on each circuit, and I guess Symmons is not much different. If you can brake deep and straight, you make a lot of time on the straights. We knew the weather might be a factor but that didn't alter

TIME

F/LAP

BCHingLTIIC UlflUl with Clinton Wilson Engineer,#5FPR Falcon

’’

our set-up. Early in the year we ran our dry set-up in the wet at Winton and we found that it works really well in those conditions.The main thing we needed to keep track of was strategy; I have been engineering a V8 Supercar only a short time so I need to work on

resMjgvss RACE 2(58 LAPS)

| )V8SRACE1 (42 LAPS) RESUfiy POS DRIVER

1 iBrighF? 44:32.8863 52.4579 16 2 Winterbottom 44:35.5680 52.6047 15 44:36.7458 52.6804 15 3 iiaitaia. 44:40.0734 52.4193 18* 4 Tander 44:42.5496 52.6327 20 5 1 44:44.2557 52.5400 15 6 5. Richards 7 BIBW. 44:44.4896 52.7504 20 8 Dumbrell 44:54.9923 52.9799 19 44:55.1534 53.2731 19 9 DavTsStil 44:57.6139 519778 16 10 Canto 11 l3 ^:58.8151 52.9377 18 45:00.3114 52.9082 16 12 J. Richards 13 45:03.3512 53.1315 22 B' 45:03.9443 53.0501 23 14 Ingall 15 45:04.2133 53.0399 21 51 45:04.3573 52.5951 22 16 Skaife 17 45:06:5739 53.2549 29 45:13.8942 53.4373 17 18 Bargwanna 19 IA.J^ 45:14.4574 53.5175 18 45:18.6081 53.4492 27 20 Marshall 21 HiTOTS. 41 laps 53.2292 22 22 Holdsworth 41 laps 53.2950 13 ?3iEap 41 laps 53.9510 32 24 Price 40 laps 53.5751 16 40 laps 53.3132 35 26 Ricciardello 40 laps 54.2423 21 27 Lowndea ___ 39laps 53.4995 17 28 Bowe 37 laps 53.2388 8 DNfl B.Jontej ’ lOlaps 55.2991 9 Olaps DNFWhincup

that. Phil Keed has had four years with this, and after the race, we discussed it quite a bit. I think that was his sixth wet race - it was the second wet race for me. Frosty has done a great job this season and we have learned to understand each other better as we go along. I know better how what he wants out of a car; I don't think that has changed so much as I understand that more clearly now.The driver-engineer relationship is so important and we have worked together for less than a year. We are still building on that, developing how we talk about the car and working out exactly what the other means. With two rounds to go, it is business as usual. Phillip Island was our test track last year so we are pretty confident about that, and we believe that Bahrain will not be too dissimilar. It varies a little, in so much as the surface is flatter and offers a higher grip level, so we will adjust our set-up accordingly and take it from there. RE§U1!Ijgvss RACE 3(58 LAPS)

POS DRIVER

1 iTandWbiL. 1:02:46.1704 53.1559 56 2 Winterbottom 1:02:46.6683 53.0095 56 1:02:48.1501 53.3005 56 3 lamp 1:02:48.6629 52.9716 58* 4 T. Kelly 5 1:02:56.7712 54;0200 57 6 Davison 1:02:56.9462 54.0526 58 7 _ 1:03:00.4244 54.1782 56 1:03:01.7711 54.3227 56 8 Bargwanna 9 ipwnill ^ 1:03:023800 54.4396 56 1:03:02.6307 54.3720 56 10 Ingall 1:03:02.8564 540945 40 11 STRiiaii 1:03:03.2599 54.0336 39 12 J. Richards

1 liTaffliE

POS DRIVER

TIME

F/LAP

_ 1:03:14.8944 543440 40 58 laps 53.9514 57 15 cwte* 57laps 543839 52 16 Johnson 57laps 54.2255 55 17 MaiH 57laps 54.3892 56 18 Bowe 57laps 54.0643 56 19 OwenL^ 57laps 53.1870 45 20 Canto 57 laps 54.8211 46 21 McConvil!i. 56 laps 543782 55 22 Luff ~ 56 laps 55.1725 51 23 PrtiZ 56laps 54.4441 56 24 Holdsworth 55 laps 54.4860 55 DNF|M3i ; ~ 55 laps 54.1224 52 DNF Ricciardello 50 laps 55.6575 44 dnfh:?:1!I1&: ' 46 laps 543083 41 DNF Baird 37laps 56.3327 37 DNF I B.J6tiesj “1 13 laps 59.6066 11 14 A.Jones

TIME

l:07-39.8942 1:07:40.4184 2 Bright 3 Kte!1»,iii 1:07:43.6214 1:07:44.4577 4 R. Kelly 5 J .●07:44.8768 1:07:45.8581 6 5. Richards 7 Itowrid^l J:07:47.7941 1:07:48.5163 8 Dumbrell 9 iMicCbilii3 Tt07:48.8715 1:07:49.1823 10 Ingall 11 1:07:52.7406 1:07:56.2344 12 Davison 1:07:56.5895 13 B 14 J. Richards 1:07:57.1127 15 l;08n0.4531 57 laps 16 Morris 17 laroiA. 57 Ians 18 Luff 57 laps 19 57 laps 20 Ricciardello 57 laps 21 Bargwinna^ 56 laps 22 Holdsworth ’”56 laps DNR 36 laps DNF Skaife 33 laps 33 laps PNIjMi^v DNFJohnson 1 lap DNFfiffflPi. 0 laps’ DNF Marshall Olaps

F/LAP

52.6625 55 52.5952 48* 52.9126 48 53.0367 45 523721 44 53.3094 55 53.3771 45 53.2002 43 53.3818 45 53.3826 55 53.5882 47 53.5602 48 53.8520 54 53.3021 46 53.6320 36 53.3297 36 53.7143 46 54.2074 54 53‘.9988 47 54.2885 45 53.8500 44 54.3737 27 53;5957 28 53.3446 27 54.1263 27

V8S^PfMii:- RD11 R. Kelly 2861, Lowndes 2788, Winterbottom 2589, Ingall 2428, Tander 2416, Bright 2298,5. Richards 2235, T. Kelly 2204, Johnson 2051, Whincup 2000, Courtney 1987, Dumbrell 1969, Bargwanna 1812, Davison 1766, Wilson 1724, J. Richards 1676, Canto 1667, McConville 1649, Morris 1577, Skaife 1542, Bowe 1526, Holdsworth 1502, Owen 1489, B. Jones 1426, Murphy 1280, Radisich 1235, A, Jones 1123, Luff 958, Marshall 847, Ellery 594, Fernandez 548, Coulthard 478, Gurr 457, Ricciardello 398, Selon 300, Youlden 290, Baird 287

motorsportnews

FORMULA FORD

Wood makes it two atSymmons Plains HEADING into the penultimate round of the Australian Formula Ford Championship at Symmons Plains there was four points between Tim Slade and John Martin at the top of the standings. Following the round,there was just three points between the two main title protagonists. But neither driver could take out the round, that honour going to Dale Wood.The Mygale driver had a slow start to the meeting, setting seventh fastest time in qualifying, he moved up to fifth during the first race, before hitting his straps when the rain started to fall on the Sunday morning. Making the most of the wet conditions in Race 2, Wood moved up into the lead group with Ashley Walsh and Slade. Before long he was in the lead, which is where he stayed until the finish. Paul Laskazeski proved out of reach for Wood in the final race, but second place was enough to secure the round win, his second of the season since switching back to Mygale. "It makes it a lot more special when your family are involved in the team with you,"said Wood. "My brother prepares the Mygale each round and my family are here to support me all the time as well so it is great to get our second round win." Laskazeski wound up second for the round, but it was the championship leader's who told the story of the weekend.

John Martin fared the best. taking third for the round along with a win from the opening race. Race 2 was his downfall, with a spin while in the lead causing him to retire. He recovered to finish fifth in the final race, handing him third for the round and cutting Slade's championship iead by a point. Slade, on the other hand,looked setto make the most of Martin's bad luck by taking second in Race 2. It wasn't to be though,contact with Walsh and a sticking throttle leading to a race-ending crash in the final race,pictured right. The championship will be decided at Phillip Island next month. Points: Slade 261, Martin 258,Walsh 185, Wood 164,Tim Blanchard 160,Todd Flore 158, Nathan Caratti 146, Brad Lowe 124, Josh Scott 121, Laskazeski 95.

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ITALY has triumphed in a bizarre third round of the 2006 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport on the streets of China. The weekend started slowly when Friday practice was cancelled after it was discovered that cars were struggling to make it around the hairpin.The track was re-opened on Saturday morning after the hairpin was re profiled, however it was closed again 25 minutes into the session when a manhole cover came loose. The action finally got underway for the Sprint Race, and it was another star showing from upand-coming Dutchman Jereon Bleekemolen. Starting from pole.

Bleekemolen was too fast for the rest, comfortably taking victory ahead of Mexico's Salvador Duran and Italy's EnricoToccacelo. The Feature Race started in similar fashion, however Mexico's chances of a double-podium finished when Duran touched the wall.This allowed Italy into second, with Toccacelo taking the challenge to Bleekemolen. He continued to do so until after the round of pitstops, when the Dutch entry crashed out of the race. This handed the lead to Germany, however a gearbox problem put Italy out front. And that's where Toccacelo stayed, leading home series debutant

Oliver Jarvis. "This is a really good result for us and I am really happy to be back here in A1GP, in Beijing and winning the race," said Toccacelo. "I have been a little bit lucky in the last laps but anyway I feel the car was good and I was the quickest in the race." Australia scored its second podium of the year thanks to Karl Reindler, pictured right. The West ● Australian moved up nine places during the race to finish third. Mexico now lead the series

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from Germany. Points; Mexico 24, Germany 22, Great Britian 20, Italy 19, Malaysia 17, Australia 16.

up of Mog

Power Play in Mexico City

Will gets his first podium finish at season ! finale

WILL Power has secured his first Champ Car podium finish with third place at Mexico City a fortnight ago. The Australian qualified fourth for the race, and made the most of the semi-wet conditions to hunt down veteran Bruno Junqueira throughout the opening stages. Power made the move for third on lap 48 of 66. That third place almost turned into the lead on the final lap when eventual winner Sebastian Bourdais and the second placed Justin Wilson clashed, however the contact didn't cause race58

ending damage to either car. Power's third place handed him Rookie of the Year honours, as well as the Bridgestone Passion for Excellence award. "This is just an awesome result," said Power. "What an incredible way to end the season on a high." Ryan Briscoe qualified fifth in the RuSPORT car, but contact with Orial Servia on the opening lap left him with a punctured tyre. He finished two laps down.

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Final Points: Bourdais 387, Wiison 298, AJ Alimendinger 285, Nelson Phillipe 231, Junqueira 219, Power 213.

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INTERNATIONAL

ANDY Priaulx could not have cut it any finer to win his second World Touring Car Championship. After winning the first of two races at Macau from pole, the Briton went into the last race of the season with seven points up his sleeve over Jorg Muller. In spite of carrying 30kg more ballast than his fellow BMW driver, Muller leapt away to win while the other title aspirant, Augusto Farfus, had his hopes dashed when his Alfa hit the wall in the first-lap skirmish. So it was all down to Priaulx. He picked up a spot when PeterTerting lagged at a restart and, despite a challenge from a pumped-up Fabrizio Giovanardi (in BAS's Honda Accord Euro)

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earindme to a welirdeserved' wiitogfir n ; Ipl^’rlSlfili test driver Adrian. , 'SitfDdiaimed the final podium position,coming from sixth on A beneficiary of luck, Conway thegrid'to claim.third. BMW-Sauber-F.1'test ; moved up after grabbing a great start that catapulted him .drivef'SJeBastrafTVettel had a ’ from seventh to fourth,and weekend Ihe'd rather forget, inherited the lead after Paul di l ind'pg'his race in retirement ; Resta crashedi with with Kamui causedjby-a'heated clash with [ : KObayashiand'IVlanko Asmer at* ^IRobentStreit at Lisboa COilhdr; ' i Lisboa Corner on iap t. -"VetfiEswas affected all weekend’ ; ! Afterthe Safety Canperi0d;=^-*-3lDy-engineipfdb|§ms> and' i p Conwayclippedlthe waHilighitly ' a‘lsd5retrredfi^ii'*Sa'turday'S | ' ■near'San :iiran'Gis.ao!!Benfit,lbu|<; 'Qua'IifieMfoi lace after a Shunt | i ,went ©ritp cohitiidl'the race r: -intO'fliie walllcausedSby brake | ( back tO'seGondNplagedi man * ' ipressurepf0brems.^*,f ' I ■ 'Richard'Antinuceybringing the t iC#a^pi:dh:iMiikeConvuay j drove a^pepplytidntxPlledl race to claim the coveted' i Macau Grand'Prix.

iJ'l Andy hung on for fifth. "I am nearly numb with emotion," he said later. "The pressure was massive on me coming here.The second race was the hardest one I have ever had." The two BMWs were separated by the three SEATs of Yvan Muller, Tom Coronel and James Thompson.

● - .

■

’ .'C'v

Jimmie wins the Chase! Fast Trucker TODD Bodine won his first Truck Series championship at Homestead last weekend. Bodine, who qualified 12th finished a conservative 21st, took the title after his main rival Johnny Benson suffered damage in a crash. It was Toyota's first Truck championship. Marcos Ambrose finished the season with 27th place in Miami, leaving him 21st in his Rookie season. - MARTIN D CLARK Final Points: Bodine 3666, Benson 3539, David Reutimann 3530, David Star 3355, Jack Sprague 3328.

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JIMMIE Johnson's cautious ninth place finish at Homestead was all he needed to clinch his first Nextel Cup championship. But it wasn't easy, with Johnson battling a hole in his front air dam, a slow pit stop due to a missed left front wheel nut, and then a spinning Robby Gordon in his path. Still, Johnson hung on to win the US$6.2 million title by 56 points over 2003 champ Matt Kenseth, who finished the race sixth. "The feeling is overwhelming right now,"said Johnson. "We've all worked so hard and long for this and to be able to win at this level is the ultimate thing. We had a great race car and we did what we needed to do with the problems we had today, we're just a stronger smarter race team this year." Greg Biffle was the race winner, his third in succession at Homestead and second of the year. He held off a great run from Martin Truex Jr, Denny Hamlin and

pole sitter Kasey Kahne in a green white chequer sprint to the finish line. "This is same car I've won with three years in a row", said Biffle.-'Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson and hopefully we'll be in that position next year." Juan Pablo Montoya was spun into-the wall hard by Ryan Newman to airthe ninth yellow flag ofthe race.The 10th came when Montoya's Ganassi team mate Casey Meats detonated his engine, leaving the two lap sprint to the end. A FORTNIGHT ago, Kevin Harvick took his fifth win of the season at Pheonix. Jimmie Johnson finished second ahead of Denny Hamlin. - MARTIN D CLARK Final Points: Johnson 6475, Kenseth 6419, Hamlin 6407, Kevin Harvick 6397, Dale Earnhardt Jr. 6328, Jeff Gordon 6256, Jeff Burton 6228, Kahne 6183, Mark Martin 6168, Kyle Busch 6027.

WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

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HIS year's Rally New Zealand may not go down as one of the great contests in WRC history, but nobody linked with the BPFord World Rally Team could care less. Marcus Gronholm and Mikko Hirvonen dominated last weekend's event from beginning to end, giving the Blue Oval an easy one-two finish and, more importantly, putting the manufacturers'title safely beyond the reach of Citroen. It is Ford's first manufacturers' title in 27 years, and it was achieved in the marque's first year with the new-generation Focus RS. "It's a great feeling to win the rally and secure the world title for Ford on the same day," Gronholm said. "When I joined the team 1 expected a high performance level from the Focus RS WRC because it was a new car, and to experience the fantastic level of reliability that we have enjoyed during the season has been a big bonus." "To win the manufacturers'title is a huge achievement for me,"added Hirvonen, who also sealed third in the drivers'standings. "I started my career in World Rallying with Ford, so it is even better to be here helping Ford to the title." Neither Gronholm nor Hirvonen's positions overlooked under threat. Gronholm had a 31.2s lead over his younger team-mate at the end of the first day,and there was a further 45s buffer to Dani Sordo who,at the time, was sitting in third. Yet despite their lead the pair continued to push until late in the final day, including fastest times from Gronholm through all three of the rain-affected stages on Saturday. On paper, Manfred Stohl's third place looked equally comfortable, although the reality was rather different. The Austrian had been making good progress until the fourth stage on Friday, when

he spun his OMV Peugeot 307 into a bank and allowed Sordo to sneak ahead. A bad tyre choice in the wet on Saturday morning did little to help his cause, but by the afternoon he was back into the swing of things, and had no problems responding to a late challenge from the Kronos Citroen of Xavi Pons. "It is a very special experience, more so since we beat very tough opponents and were able to confirm the success in Australia," Stohl grinned. "We had a lot of luck, and in the end,Jesus wanted us to make it." Stohl's Bozian team-mate Henning Solberg finished outside the points after losing 16 minutes to a rollover mid-way through the rally. Kronos was still feeling the absence of Sebastien Loeb, but nevertheless managed a decent result when Pons and Sordo brought their Xsaras home fourth and fifth. Sordo held the upper hand over his team mate early in the rally, but Pons drove superbly over the latter part of the event and recorded two fastest Stage times to move past the young Spaniard on Sunday. Subaru hasithad few highlight weekendsreel, in 2006 that will make to the and New Zealand was no different. After a slow start on Friday, overnight set-up changes and the right tyre choice found Chris Atkinson in good shape for Saturday morning. He had two fastest stage times under his belt when he drifted slightly off-line and clipped a rock seven kilometres into theTe Akau South stage. It wasn't a big hit, but it was a devastating one - inspection of the car at the service park revealed that the rollcage had been damaged, relegating Atkinson to spectator status for the remainder of the weekend. "We were trying to push on after some good

times this morning when an open wheei just caught a rock over a biind crest and took the tyre off," Atkinson said, "it was just one of those raliying incidents; i think everyone else would have hit it if they were in my position - they were all swerving to avoid it when we were warning them. "I'm not going to get too disheartened. Up to that point things had been pretty encouraging; the car was working a lot better, we could push more and I was enjoying myself. It's nice to be able to do that." Fetter Solberg had a weekend relatively free of problems, but unfortunately it was relatively free of speed and grip, too. He finished sixth, which the Norwegian felt was just about all the Impreza was capable of. Luiz Perez Companc finished seventh to pick up a couple of points for the Stobart VK M-Sport team, while his team-mate Matthew Wilson ended the weekend down in 13th after couple of spins and an encounter with a rock. The final point was awarded to Jari Matti Latvala, who won the Production class. The PWRC title went to Nasser Al-Attiyah, who was forced to retire with engine problems on Sunday morning and then endured a nervous wait to see whether main rival Fumio Nutahara could finish high enough to steal the Production crown.

uch of the focus over the weekend was on a black Subaru Impreza with MotoGP star Valentino Rossi at the wheel. The Italian's only other WRC start (Rally GB in 2002)ended with a crash on the opening stage, so The Doctor was treading rather more carefully this time around. But after a very cautious start, Rossi's times picked up considerably as he adapted to his car, and he showed huge improvements over repeated stages.

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WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

Light them up; Rossi tries to give the crowd something extra to cheer about, above left, butSolberg targeted points rather than theatrics, above.

fiEsila® RALLY NEW ZEALAND The highlight of his weekend came on Saturday's Mystery Creek Super Special, where he was seventh overall (beating both of the factory Subarus in the process). Given that his only real aim was to finish the rally in one piece, his final position of 11th outright was an excellent effort. "I am at the end without big problems and also the car is not damaged," Rossi said. "That is very important! We tried to understand the road and the car, and just tried to improve. It was a hard job, but I enjoyed it a lot. For sure I have work to do to be very fast, but we had great fun in the car so I'm happy." With both the drivers'and manufacturers'titles now decided, there are only the scraps left to fight for when the Championship arrives in Great Britain for the final round in two weeks. But with the pressure off, the door is now open for the fast guys to forget about the Championship and just go rallying. There are some good times ahead in the forests of southern Wales.

MOTORSPORT

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events##

Shifting fortunes: Stohl gets a podium,above left, Sordo gets a traditional greeting, above, and Henning Solberg decides that windscreens are optional, below.

Mi^Qjlioj''' fin Ford Focus WRC 06 Timo Rautianen Fin 4;02:30.7 2 MiiSplifvo!igjl Fin Ford Focus WRC 06 Jarmo Lehtinen Fin 4:03:26.7 1

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Marc Marti E 4:05:51.4 PettedSS'I] Nor Subaru Impreza PhiiMiils GB 4:07:27.8 7 tu¥PeR RA Ford focus RS 06 JoseVoita RA 4:13:22.3 JarFMatti fin Subaru impreza MikkaAnttiia Fin 4:18:53.1 6

Drivers'Points;LoebllZ,Gronholm 101,Hirvonen 65, Sordo 47,Stohl46,P Solberg 34,Pons 28,H Solberg 25, Gardemeister20,Atkinson 17,Galli 15,Bengue 9. Mamifacturers'Points: Ford 185,Kronos Citroen 160, Subaru 97,OMV-Peugeot 80,Stobart-Ford 39, Red Bull Skoda 23.

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Tatnellfires into title defence WORLD SERIES SPRINTCARS

RESUM■i VISS ROUND 1 (30 LAPS)

round 7 - kalgoorlie

MAKING its return to Western Australian turf after nearly five years away, the first round of the Proton World Series Sprintcar Championship took over Kalgoorlie International Speedway on November 8. The 30-lap A-main turned into a one-lane affair, but it was Brooke Tatnell out of position five who would take glory. After moving forward quickly into second place behind Donny Schatz, Tatnell tailed the American until Schatz spun the car while passing lapped traffic. This allowed Tatnell into the lead, where he stayed until the chequered flag. "The team gave me a great car that could run low all race, which helped a lot on this track tonight," said current World Series Champion Tatnell. "I was surprised to see Donny spin in front of me and we just kept on it from there. With the first one down we are off to Kwinana and hopefully can do some good there as well." Max Dumesny worked his way into contention from position

POS

NUMBER

DRIVER

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Brooke Tatnell MaxDumesny DonnySchatz Robbie Farr

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 seven, passing Garry Brazier and American Daryn Pittman. Dumesny's next victim was Robbie Farr who was the highest pointscorer prior to the dashes. Dumesney finally got clear of Farr and Schatz to settle into second,! while Schatz also found a way past Farr to finish third. "We were happy to get to second and it was a great race between Donny (Schatz) and Robbie (Farr), it's a good start

m Q7

W95 ¥93 55 Q74 ¥92}

m IH0 NTS a Q61

Garry Brazier Ryan Farrell David Murcott Jason Johnson Daryn Pittman Allan Haynes Matthew Reed David Priolo Brock Mayes Danny Reidy Ricky Maiolo ToddWanless Mitchell Dumesny 5cott Milling

to the series so let's see what happens next" said Dumesny. The biggest mover in the field was Allan Haynes who started from position 16 and finished 10th. Ryan Farrell was the opposite, starting out of two before dropping to sixth by race end. Schatz set the fastest time with a 11.998s, setting a new lap record. - DARREN SUTTON

Max takes prelim points WORLD SERIES SPRINTCARS

round 2 (p) - kwinana

RESijEjjBWSS round 2p (25 LAPS) POS

1 2

3 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 62

NUMBER

55 15 Q7

WM V91

J6:

W95 W17.3 Q61 W9S: A1 NT5 iifiiii

W21

m W46

DRIVER

Max Dumesny Jason Johnson Donny 5chatz Robbie Farr Ken 5artori David Murcott Garry Brazier Ryan Farrell Luch Monte ToddWanless Jamie Maiolo Brooke Tatnell Mitchell Dumesny Danny Reidy Ben Eilement Mark Wells 5cott Reilly Rick Geneve

JUST as the weather played havoc with the crowd. Max Dumesny played havoc with the field when he took out the preliminary A-Main at round two of the World Series Sprintcar series. Dumesny not only won the race, but also broke the 25-lap track record with a rare flag-toflag run. Starting from the front row Dumesny made sure it was going to be his night by taking an early grip on the race - and didn't let go. "The car was Just a dream to drive, the track became very fast but it was very hard to pass lapped traffic,"said Dumesney "it was Just a one-laner, but you can't do anything about the weather. The fans were great staying till the end even after so many showers."

American star Jason Johnson got the front row gig alongside Dumesney and put on a great show while working through lapped traffic. He made it an American 2-3 by holding out Donny Schatz to the finish, with Robbie Farr fourth and Ken Sartor! rounding out the top five. Another great run from David Murcott saw him finish in sixth position. Garry Brazier finished seventh. Donny Schatz set fast time with a 13.884 Kalgoorlie winner Brooke Tatnell seemed to be struggling with the car in his heat race, dropping from seventh to ninth. In the feature, Tatnell started 18th and worked his way up to 12th on the tricky circuit. - DARREN SUTTON

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SPEEDWAY

Two in a row for Tatneli WORLD SERIES SPRINTCARS

THE final night of Round 2 of

race, with both drivers passing each other back and forth through lapped traffic.Tatneli finally got enough of a break on Schatzto put lapped cars between them,

the World Series Sprintcar series will go down as some of the

before taking the chequered flag ahead of Schatz and Johnson.

best Sprintcar racing ever seen

"This Cool car has been working really well and I'm proud to be

round 2(f)- kwinana

at the Motorplex - the majority of which was put on by Brooke Tatneli and Donny Schatz. Tatneli drove an outstanding race to come from position six and pass the best of the best to take out the A-Main 30-lap event. On a dry, slick track, Jason Johnson and Donny Schatz started on the front row with Johnson opening up a sizeable lead early in the race. It tookTatnell only a handful of laps to get past Farr, Pittman and Murcott, by which time Johnson and Schatz had encountered lapped traffic. This allowed Schatz to pass Johnson high on the slick track, and it wasn't long before Tatneli dispensed of Johnson and was slowly making headway to Schatz through traffic. This was the start of a heated

part of this team, we're having an awesome year," said Tatneli. Schatz was slightly disappointed with second, but enoyed the fight. "Our car got better after about 10 laps and we got caught out a bit as Brooke could really slow his car down on the bottom,"said Schatz "I couldn't slow down and keep the car stuck, we had to keep the speed up run the middle or top. Clear and simple they beat us there was no issues with traffic we could both get through" After a great performance the previous night. Max Dumesny had a shocker by his own admission. "We shouldn't have shown up Saturday, we were out to lunch

all night. We tried something different to improve our position in the A-main.The next thing I know I'm being lapped by Brooke and Donny". - DARREN SUTTON

. *+ POS

NUMBER

2 3 4 5

Donny Schatz Jason Johnson

Daryn Pittman David Murcott

DRIVER

Brooke Tatneli

lV91 NTS Q6

FQ61 W47

Garry Brazier Jamie Maiolo Luch Monte ToddWanless Ken Sartori

W95 V5

Ryan Farrell Max Dumesny

iiW77 W21

Mitchell Dumesny Mark Wells ■

W11 W87

Brock Mayes Carl Dowling

9 11^99

12 13 14 15

16 17 18

Danny Reidy Robbie Farr

W17

A land Farr Farr away 0.

WORLD SERIES SPRINTCARS

round 3 - adelaide

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

That proved to be the case when Robbie Farr took out Round 3 of the World Series Sprtincars at Adelaide's Speedway City last Saturday night. "This place has been kind to Jason (Johnson) and I over the years and tonight proved to be no different/said Robbie Farr as he

position after claiming an untroubled victory of the B-Dash event over David Murcott, who stormed by Max Dumesny and the charismatic Drew Kruck to start from P2, alongside the fancied Johnson. As the lights turned green, Farr's reaction time proved best as he shot to the front leading Johnson, Brazier, Murcott and Reed as they jockeyed for track www.mnews.com.au

RE§iiJgWSS ROUND 3 (30 LAPS) POS

THE positions may have changed, but the names remain the same.

stood on top of the podium. Farr earned the front row

position through the early laps. Over the duration of the event there were several race stoppages as drivers spun or retired to the infield. Mitchell Dumesny was the first to trip the yellow lights, kissing the turn three wall. Kruck's night ended after tangling with a backmarker while mounting a strong charge towards a possible podium finish. Each stoppage played into the hands of race leader Farr who

●i^l

IfSWSS ROUND 2f (30 LAPS)

would make the most of the clear -track ahead. Johnson tried valiantly in the closing laps, but finished second ahead of Garry Brazier. Leading home the next batch of cars was Max Dumesny who had steadily worked his way forward from sixth. Murcott was next, followed by the biggest mover in the field, Danny Reidy, who had fought his way ten places forward to sixth. -PARIS CHARLES

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

NUMBER

DRIVER

Robbie Farr Jason Johnson

m S3 V5

NTS

m S59

Garry Brazier Max Dumesny David Murcott Danny Reidy Grant Anderson Steven Lines Mark Reuter

S91

Ashley Cook David Muir

S24

Ricky Maiolo Daniel Morton Justin Sloan

S25 V925 Q61

Matthew Reed ToddWanless Drew Kruk

N77

Mitchell Dumesny

Chaiip^tasglliifo Points: Robbie Farr 1781, Jason Johnson 1754, Max Dumesny 1632, Garry Brazier 1596, David Murcott 1517, Brooke Tatneli 1505, Donny Schatz 1407, Danny Reidy 1298. 63

cheuerle looking good A WIN is a win,and after years of try ing, Renmark's Chris Evans has finally triumphed with a feature race victory at Adelaide's Speedway City in Round 2 of the domestic 360ci Sprintcar track championship. "My luck has finally changed here," said Evans."Tonight, not only did I win my first heat I also won the feature." The main event proved a tricky affair for many of the competitors, with numerous spins as the drivers tried their best to navigate their way to the finish line. In a shortened race due to curfew, Evans held sway from beginning to declared end after rookie driver Terry Pitt spun, bringing on the yellow lights for the final time. Evans led home the two Jamies in Hendry and Cobby. The Australian champion proved to be the big mover in the field, barnstorming from ninth to third and what could have possibly been even higher if the race carried the full distance. A very consistent Darryl Guerin crossed the line in fourth ahead of Mark Caruso, closely followed by the father and son team of Dennis and Michael Burford. The opening round feature race was not run at the last meeting due to time curfew and will be re-run at Round 3 on December2 with double features scheduled. n The TPCR promoters have released the American driver line up for the upcoming Outlaws Down Under IV with the King Steve Kinser headlining the Cast of the Fast. Kinser will be down under from Boxing night onwards after shipping out two race machines for his Sydney campaign. Sammy Swindell, Donny Schatz, Danny Lasoski,Joey Saldana,Jason Meyers,Jason Sides, Jason Solwold, Travis Rilat,Tim Kaeding and Jonathon Attard are returning this summer while first timers for the DownUnder shootout will be Tommy Tarlton, Chad Hillier and lady racers Natalie Sather and Becca Anderson. n At last Sunday's final meeting of the NSWSKC 2006 season, rookie dirt kart racer John Watton(who is crew chieffor Sprintcar star Marty Perovich) took up his own dirt racing program. The boot was on the other foot with Perovich advising Watton on how to , race. A challenge was given by Perovich with an offer for the crew chief to race Perovich's spare #17 sprintcar. The only proviso is that Watton has to find his own motor... -CHARLES/BOSCATO 64

ROUND 4 of the Comp Cams Sprintcar Series was won by Andrew Scheuerle last weekend at Brisbane International Speedway. The win is Scheuerie's second of the season,foilowing a drought in 2005/06, where,despite taking out the iocai championships, Scheuerie was winless. "It's a far cry from last season it was all second positions then," Scheuerle said."We've been pretty decent all season now, and we've got the lead in both of the championships(Comp Cams and MSAQ Club)." On Saturday night Scheuerle began the feature race in second position behind Cameron Gessner. Gessner won the start and built a precarious lead over Scheuerle in the early stages. Gessner's run at the front of the A-Main ended when he encountered the first

lapped cars following a restart, and Scheuerle dived up the inside to snatch the lead while Gessner was baulked. After Scheuerle took the lead, the result was beyond doubt, and he romped to victory. Gessner did keep Scheuerle honest and remained in close proximity, but he was never able to threaten. "We snuck up on him and took the lead," Scheuerle said. "The car got better throughout the race, and it was a good win." Meanwhile Gessner was left to rethink his race strategy, saying, 'We need to stop leading early; that's the second one we've lost like that!" Ben Wright added another podium finish to his season tally, finishing a distant third behind the two runaway leaders. - DARIUS KOREIS

wins at A DETERMINED drive from Grant Anderson has seen him take a solid victory at Round 2 of the Sprintcar Racing Association's Super Sprint Series at Moama's Heartland Raceway. Anderson won the 25-lap A-Main from reigning SRA Champion John Vogels, with Brett Milburn third. "You needed to dust off on the bottom so you can run the top

and pass ears,"said Anderson after the win. "Sure enough you don't set quick times, but you need it to be racy otherwise it's follow the leader and it's boring for everyone.The track provided great racing." In the top-six time trial; Anderson recorded a lap of 15.384s, which was the second quickest behind Vogels's 15.377s. Vogels chose the outside

starting position for the final but Anderson took charge and set up a commanding lead. Anderson's heart-fluttering^ moment came on the ,i 5th lap when Brett Smith spun in front of him exiting turn four. Vogels was satisfied with second place, which boosted his overall points standing in his chase for a third straight series win. -GEOFF ROUNDS

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SPEEDWAY

FOLLOWING a very successful American race campaign, Kerry Madsen has returned home and picked up back-to-back Parramatta Sprintcar A-Main victories. Back in his familiar #29 Cool machine, Madsen didn't have it all his own way last Saturday night after qualifying into the A-Main from placing second toTPCR track champTrevor Green in the B-Main. The former Australian champion had to storm up from almost last position to claim first place. With all of the competitors experiencing the same difficult track conditions, lady racer Kelly Linigen took charge of the A-Main early. Opening Dash race winner Ian Loudoun and Linigen battled for the lead while the other 24 starters battled with the very slick track. Troy Little was looking good but retired after blowing a rear tyre. but the race was Kerry Madsen's after he forged from the rear to take control and score his second Parramatta win in seven days with Loudoun second and a very impressive Linigen third.

Earlier in qualifying it was Adrian Maher who clocked fastest time with a superb 12.603s lap, with Sam Walsh and Trevor Green making up the top three in the 55 car field. The previous week saw Madsen return home to Sydney the day before, but, with a hard fought year in the USA under his belt, he was certainly ready to tackle the Parramatta All-Stars. The A-Main front row of Little and Loudoun didn't make it past turn one as the pair tangled, badly damaging both cars. Marty Perovich then took control, leading for many laps until Kerry Madsen came onto the scene. He battled with Perovich for a few laps before taking the lead. Trevor Green worked through brake troubles to move up into second late in the race, and looked like he may challenge Madsen for the lead. A restart with seven laps to run saw Green run over a lapped car rear wheel, sending the #11 machine into the outer wall. - GREG BOSCATO

Hoosier Tire Australia

WORLD SERIES SPRINTCARS 2006/07 CHAMPIONSHIP

Australian Distributors for

Round 3-Speedway City - South Australia

¤ RACINC3 TIRE I FormoreInfo on HoosierDrag&Speedway Tyres calk

NSW: 0296791990 mC: 0393316477 :SA: 0883320800 www.mnews.com.au

Going for it: Kelly Linigen was a solid contender, above, while Kerry Madsen,left. enjoyed a successful return to Australian shores.

F0296791I87 F03933I7444 F0883640296

J3SOD jonnson

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Garry Brazier MaxDumesny David Murcott Danny Reidy Grant Anderson Steven Lines Mark Reuter AshelyCook

Points as of 18 November,2006 yn Y

13 Daniel Morton 14 Justin Sloan 15 Matthew Reed 16 ToddWanless 17 Drew Kruck 18 19 20

Mitchell Dumesny

3 4 5 6

Max Dumesny Garry Brazier David Murcott Brooke Tatnell

7 8 9 10

Donny Schatz Danny Reidy ToddWanless Mitchell Dumesny

1632 1596 1517 1505 1407 1298 1079 1066

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

RickyMaiolo Ryan Farrell Alan Haynes Dan Morton Luch Monte David Muir Drew Kruck

982 967 945 932 866 797 290

The Monaro Man John Zappia may run an old-spec Monaro, but there is nothing slow about it MOTORSPORT NEWS:You had a good start to the year in the first round at WSID, but disappointment at the Nationals. It's early days,so how do you approach the season from here? JOHN ZAPPIA: We've got to be more on our game.We've given one round away now.The reason we lost last year is because we gave two away. Basically we want to make sure we get a set-up for the first run, and then improve over the weekend. We have bonus points in the next round at Kwinana (in two weeks)so we'll need to maximise on that and get back the lead. MN: No doubt going one better this season is something you want to do? JZ: Yes. We have a new sponsor on board this season (Striker Crushing) so the pressure is on, people want results. We have to keep heading in the right direction. Plus, with the home track advantage we'll have, we have to make the most of it. MN: Ben Bray will be on the sidelines for a while after his accident {see story page 68). Does this mean that the title will a three-way fight between Victor 66

Bray, yourself and Gary Phillips? JZ: Oh,there will be more than three. We'll see about that. We've got Victor up front,followed by me and Garry Phillips. Victor was coming third before the last meeting. It can change quickly.' Victor's leading the points at the moment so he's the one we'll be concentrating on,and I'll be looking to get my nose back in front. It's early days,though. Anyone could pop up there. We had a big lead after the December round last year, but things go wrong. We've got to maximise some of the advantages we've got at the moment before the others catch up. We've got a brand-new engine in the car at the moment. It's only done one test run, and we ran it last weekend at Kwinana (in Club Comp), which gave us a good test. We'll decide soon if we'll use it in the next Top Doorslammer round. MN:You've had a long and successful partnership with the Monaros. Why the love for the old Monaros? JZ: It's what the fans want. A few years ago I changed to a Pontiac Funny Car and people were coming up to me asking about

GRANT ROWLEY

the Monaro. I really like them, and no one else has got them in our league, so we went back to it and its proved to be even more popular. The sponsors like it to. It's a real muscle car, and it works. I have my current Monaro for three years now. We had our last one for 20 years,so we've still got a few more left in this one! People have asked if I was going to build a new car. It's a lot of work. I don't know. We'll see how this season works out. If the dollars are okay,then maybe. But a new car alongside this one? I don't know. I haven't thought that far ahead yet. MN: Not that there is much wrong with the current car. At one stage,the car was the world's fastest and quickest tin Top Doorslammer. What was the feeling like when you achieved that feat? JZ: Oh, unbelievable. I can't describe it.The run was great and the car felt good.The car did a wheel-stand for half the run, but to do it and to win that meeting was unreal. We'd never won outside of Perth before at the time, and I pulled it off. We've got a bit of a way to catch up now to get to the record again.

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A Brand Newby

Wayoe Mewby extended his Top Alcohol Championship lead at Kwinana Motorplex FORMER Australian Top Alcohol champion Wayne Newby improved his current series lead on Saturday November 18 at Perth Motorplex,taking out Round 3 of the Australian Top Alcohol Championship at Perth Motorplex in Western Australia last weekend. It was New South Welshman Newby's first time on the Motorplex surface in his Gatorz Dragster and he took to it with aplomb, defeating Queensland's Aaron Lynch in a dramatic final round where Lynch got out of control and crossed the centreline, almost hitting Newby. Newby was satisfied with his day's work. "We just snuck up on the tune-up to get down the new track," he said. “The car has been running excellent all season and I knew we could do it." For West Australian Damien Harris, who was running second in the national series, the event was not as successful after he failed to qualify for the eight-car field. However this was of benefit to Newby and something he savoured ahead of the next round of the Australian championship which will take place in Sydney. "We should be a far way out now in the championship with Damien not qualifying," he said. 'The team is positioned well to build up a

really good lead." Newby qualified second for the event with a 5.76s in the warm daytime conditions and enjoyed a relatively easy run to the final, defeating West Aussie Grant O'Rourke in Round 1 when O'Rourke was shut down on the start line. He then took out another sandgroper in Mark Sheehan, who jumped to an early lead but then succumbed to tyre shake. Runner-up Lynch was happy to make his first ever final in a professional category in his B&L Steel Funny Car. Lynch, who normally races both his Funny Car and a Top Doorslammer, qualified in fifth place with a personal best time of 5.96s. He faced off against crowd favourite Stuart Rowland in Round 1 and took a 6.03s win as Rowland veered wildly out of his lane. Lynch upset top qualifier Brett Stevens in the semi finals with a 6.15s as Stevens blazed the rear tyres. Stevens was looking unbeatable early in the day after running successive 5.67s, 5.65s, 5.64s and 5.62s passes in the Kitten Funny Car. The popular Queensland driver was a little disappointed to be leaving eliminations early. "The thing was really consistent, really fast," he said. "I don't think I've seen an Alcohol car run like that before. We were just putting a little more

clutch in it, hopping it up each time. "In the semis we left it alone, we thought it might run slower but it would be safe.Then something went amiss, but that's racing." Queensland's Reed Racing team had one of the hardest weekends in their racing history with both Steve and wife Debbie hurting engines in the first qualifying session. For Steve it was a fatal blow as rods out the bottom of his supercharged motor caused enough damage to keep him out for the rest of the event. Debbie torched a head in her qualifier before coming back in the last minute third session to run a 6.21 s and make her way into the field. Unfortunately she was defeated by Stevens in Round 1. While Top Alcohol kept providing the action, it was also WA's most legendary Top Doorslammer driver John Zappia again making news by running Perth's first five second sedan pass, a 5.99s during a late night test run. An excitable Zappia is now looking forward to the next event at Perth Motorplex,the Top Doorslammer and Top Bike national championship rounds on December 1/2 as theTop Alcohol cars move to Sydney for their Boxing Day championship encounter. -LUKENIEUWHOF Points: Newby 310, D Reed 180, Harris 170,Stevens 165, Lynch 130, 160,S Reed 130, Bray 80.

icence to Fuel MEGA-sponsor Evan Knoll, CEO of Torco Race Fuels and the Skull line of products, has confirmed that he will move Melanie Troxel and her entire Skull Shine Top Fuel team to the Lucas Oil camp in 2007. Troxel will run as a team-mate to Morgan Lucas and will remain under the tuning guidance of Richard Hogan. Troxel's current team owner Don Schumacher would neither confirm nor deny the pending move. He did say that he had Troxel under contract to drive for him in 2007 but that “he wouldn't stand in her way if she wanted to go." Mike Ashley's Funny Car will also sever the ties to Schumacher Racing, and will apparently become part of a two-car effort. With backing from Knoll, Ashley will run under the same umbrella with Jim Dunn and driver Tony Bartone on their Lucas Oil sponsored flopper. n Peter Russo attempted to qualify his nitro flopper for the NHRA meeting in Las Vegas. Russo's first attempt Friday evening resulted in a disqualification when he got out of shape a few hundred feet out and crossed the centreline. His final attempt on Saturday netted a 5.44s/250mph,tossing the blower belt at 1000 feet. In Pomona, Russo recorded career bests at 5.035s at 263.20mph, but failed to crack the 4.84s bump. n Veteran crew chief has Dan Olson been named as Director of Top Fuel and Funny Car Racing, replacing Ray Alley. Olson, who has more than 40 years of experience in nitromethane racing, will be responsible for working directly with Top Fuel and Funny Car teams to enhance the quality of the show, make the sport safer for the fans and its competitors, and enforce NHRA rules and regulations. n J.R. Todd's second-half of the season performance gave the 24year-old Top Fuel driver the 2006 Automobile Club of Southern California Road to the Future Award winner NHRA's rookie of the year - at the annual POWERade Series awards ceremony. Todd became the odds-on favorite to earn the coveted prize and $20,000 by winning three times in four finalround appearances at the last 11 races of the 23-race season. - DAVID OSTASZEWSKI 68

PHIL Lamattina started his Top Fuel licence testing at the Western Sydney linternational Dragway last week. His first run was just a launch and shut off. The second run was a halftrack blast. He set a 0.88s at the 60ft mark, before an early shut off at the half track -3.3s/229mph. He came back later for a full track pass which resulted in an early shut off again, setting a 5.16s/198mph. Lamattina plans to make his debut in theTop Fuel class at the Boxing Day meeting. -JOHNBOSHER

Team Bray injured in freak accident YOUNG drag racing star Ben Bray and Team Bray crew member Mark'Choc' Richmond have been discharged from hospital after suffering serious injuries in a freak workshop accident two weeks ago. The accident happened when the pair was loading a car into the Team Bray transporter and the tailgate lift mechanism failed and dropped three metres to the ground. The Catrol Edge pair are recuperating at home and are expected to make a full recovery. Ben suffered fractured and chipped vertebrae and Choc,an amputee, has a badly damaged ankle. Ben's relieved father Victor said Ben was happy to be home and is complying with doctor's orders in order to be fit enough to race as soon as possible. "Benny's really glad to be home but he's going to have to live with the back brace for the next two to three months while his back repairs,"Victor said. "Choc, obviously, being an amputee, will be in

a wheelchair until he's fully recovered. Ben's got a wheelchair too so I guess the only thing both of them will be racing in the next couple of months will be wheelchairs! 3 "Ben can stand up and walk but not for ^ long distances ancJ he has to do specific exercises.The only time he can take the n

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brace off is when he is lying flat on his back." Ben was happy to back in familiar surroundings and starting his rehabilitation. 'The accident was a big eye-opener and I'm really glad to be home," he said. "I'd like to thank all the fans and my sponsors who have supported me over this last week and especially my family and girlfriend, Sam,who has been beside me the whole time. "I still have to be careful, I can't lift anything, but I can walk up stairs although I'm not really stable on my feet yet, and I can't take big steps because I ca n't twist my back." motorsporinews

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Unbelievable! Tony did the impossible,snatching an unbelievable victory from Doug Kalitta in NHRA Top Fuel

daviiostaszewski TONY Schumacher,John Force, Andrew Hines and Jason Line were confirmed as the 2006 POWERade World Champions at a dramatic season finale at Pomona Raceway. Schumacher shocked the world of Drag Racing with the biggest comeback in NHRA Drag Racing history. He trailed in the standings by as much as 336 points after the first 10 events, and after dominating the second half of the season, took over the point lead for the first time in the final sideby-side Top Fuel race of the '06 season. With point leader Doug Kalitta falling in the semi-final round.

Schumacher entered the final round needing to win the event and set a new elapsed time record with a pass quicker than 4.437s. Schumacher and crew chief Alan Johnson were up to the challenge, clocking a stunning 4.428s at 327mph to defeat Melanie Troxel and win their thirdconsecutive championship by 14 points. Kalitta had an opportunity to clinch the title in the semis, but fell to Troxel on a hole shot 4.502s to 4.500s. The win ties Schumacher with Don Garlits for third on the all-time Top Fuel wins list (35). He aiso joins Joe Amato as the only two Top Fuel drivers to win three-consecutive NHRA world championships.

It was Schumacher's fourth championship, in Funny Car, Force used a holeshot to collect his record 122nd victory. Force clocked a final round 4.69s at 319mph to defeat Jack Beckman, who set a national record elapsed time of 4.662s/329mph. Force clinched his 14th NHRA Funny Car world championship by defeating closest pursuer Ron Capps in the second round when he drove his Castrol GTX Ford Mustang to a 4.74s win at 326mph to turn back Capps'Brut Dodge, which lost traction and trailed at 5.26s/204mph. A round earlier. Force defeated Jim Head and in the semis, he stopped team mate, Robert Hight, who finished second in the standings.

Beckman, a winner in Las Vegas in only his fourth start, also established a new mph record at 333.66mph during qualifying. Round wins over Scott Kalitta,Tony Pedregon, and Phil Burkart sent him into his second consecutive final round. The Pro Stock final paired the top two point finishers of 2006, with Greg Anderson defeating newly-crowned champion and team-mate Jason Line, 6.65s/208mph to 6.69s/208mph. In eliminations, Anderson's Summit Pontiac GTO defeated Bob Panella, Ron Krisher and Allen Johnson. Craig Treble broke a winless streak of 35 events when he stopped Tom Bradford in the Pro Stock Motorcycle final. Treble recorded a winning 7.07s at 190mph against Bradford's 7.30s at 182mph. Riding for Harry Lartigue,Treble clocked 7.0s passes every round in wins over Karen Stoffer, Antron Brown and Matt Smith. Andrew Hines took the 2006 Pro Stock Motorcycle world championship when Antron Brown lost in the quarterfinals. Low qualifier Hines had to watch and wait after being eliminated with a red-light in the opening . round, but held enough of a point lead that Brown would have needed to win the event to take the title. Final Points:Top Fuel: Schumacher 1681, Kalitta 1667, Brandon Bernstein 1565, Troxell481, Fuller 1471. Funny Car: Force 1636, Hight 1524, Caps 1503. Pro Stock: Line 1787, Anderson 1664, Connolly 1451, Edwars 1265,Johnson 1230. PS Motorcycle: Hines 1099, Brown 1076, Sampey 999, Ellis 892,Smith 857.

Kate debuts-Steve shines KATE Harker made her official debut in competition behind the wheel ofTom Conway's Skull Gear A/Fuel Dragster in Las Vegas during the final Division 7event of the 2006 season. Kate opened with a 5.61 s/250mph,and improved on each of her next two passes with 5.55s/246mph and 5.49s/256mph runs. Her best of the weekend, placing her 12th, fell short of the quick 5.46s bump in the eight car qualified field. www.mnews.com.au

Her Dad,Steve Harker paced the Alcohol Funny Car field with his low qualifying effort of 5.64s at 254mph.A Round 1 5.64s/254mph stopped Doug Gordon, but a 5.74S/251 mph in the second round fell to event winner Roger Bateman's 5.69s/250mph. Harker finished the 2006 season seventh. Earlier this month at Dallas, Harker recorded a 5.71s pass at 251 mph to take low qualifier honours. In Round 1, he took a 5.72S/241 mph single over John Patton. In the

second round, Harker was defeated by event winner Kebin Kinsley -5.61 s/254 mph to Harker's 5.64s/255mph. Harker reached his fifth final round this season during the Division 2 Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at Silver Dollar Raceway. Harker's final round opponent was defending Division 2 Champion Jay Payne. He was beaten with a 5.77S/251 mph to Harker's early-shutoff 5.96s/200mph. - DAVID OSTAZSEWSKI 69

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Edited by Andrew van Leeuwen

AMRSgetsetfor Expo in the park THE Australian Motor Racing Series is holding its own Motorsport Expo at Goulburn's Wakefield Park on Sunday, December 17. AIIAMRS categories will be ^ represented with displays and exhibits, and a number of car manufacturers and builders will also have their wares on dispiay. There will be lectures on the ins-and-outs of a racing weekend, right from the entry procedure, scrutineering and competing. The Albury-Wodonga TAPE will be represented at the Expo, offering information on courses available and how to secure a future in motorsport. The track will also be available for one of Wakefield Park's open practice 'Speed Off the Streets'sessions, where experienced driver trainers will be on hand to provide advice and tips. Admission is free, and a $5 meal deal (sausage sandwich and drink) will be available to everyone in attendance. H The RDA Rotors & EBC Brakes Island Magic has a quality 215 entrants for this weekend's final round of the Victorian State Circuit Racing Championships. The entries in each class is as follows; Sports Sedans (23), Improved Production (29), Formula Vee (25), Formula Ford (25), M6s (15), Sports Cars - One Hour Race (47), Historic Touring Cars (17), HQ Holdens (12), Porsche 944 (22). Full weekend access is only $15 for Adults, Concession/Pensioners will pay $10 and Children under 16 receive free entry. The Island Magic meeting is now in its 16th year. ■ CAMS'has appointed Steven Daws to the position of Victorian State Manager. In making the appointment, CAMS CEO Dr Rob Nethercote indicated that Daws was selected from a quality field of candidates. "Steven provides for CAMS an admirable mix of qualifications, management experience and knowledge of the sport," Nethercote said. "I am pleased that such an excellent appointment could be made." Also involved in the selection process were CAMS'Victorian Board Member, Peter Bready, and Victorian State Council Chairman, Angus Black. 70

Eastern Creek Bound 'yinOLEY COOO/5i4H

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i THE Tasman Revival meeting at Eastern Creek on the first weekend in December is shaping up to be one of the best motorsport events of 2006, with over 370 entries crammed onto the three-day program. Seventeen Australian cars with genuine Tasman racing history will compete against the six international Tasman racing cars in the feature Tasman Revivakrace. Two of those six international cars are from New Zealand, rekindling the Trans Tasman rivalries of the original 1960s Tasman Series. "Interest and final entries for the Tasman Revival event have exceeded our expectations," said HSRCA Club President Peter Addison. "It is gratifying that so m^any cars with genuine Tasman history have been entered to race by their current Australian and New Zealand owners. These cars are eagerly sought by collectors around the world." Cars driven by Australia's most distinguished international drivers. Sir Jack Brabham ahdTasman Revival patron Frank Gardner will be racing. The most celebrated of those will be the Brabham's Repco BT 23A-1 driven by Brabham to fourth place in the 1967 Tasman series. This car, the only one ever built, was the prototype for the Brabham Repco BT 24T in which Denny Hulme won the 1967 world championship. Brabham's 1965 Tasman car, a Brabham BT11A will

also be competing. From New Zealand are two cars, a Brabham BT 22 Climax 2.5 driven by Jim Palmer in the 1967 Tasman series and a Brabham BT 18 Lotus TC 1.6 driven in the 1967 and 1968 series by Roly Levis. Both Palmer ■and Levis will be at the Tasman Revival meeting. Cars once campaigned by Gardner, have also been entered. Gardner's Brabham BT 23D Alfa V8 in which he came equal fourth in the 1968 championship will be competing against his 1964 Brabham BT6, now owned and raced by Tasman Revival Committee Chairman Ed Holly. But its not just the Tasman Revival that is causing all; of the stir.There will be up to 22 international entries also at the meeting, and while not strictly the Tasman Formula, they were campaigning or designed in approximately the period. Amongst these cars is the Kieft, a car conceived in 1953 to compete in Formula 1 but not completed until 2002; the 3-litre Cosworth FI Tyrell 004, built for Jackie 5tewart in 1972; the M23 FI McLaren that Denny Hulme drove to sixth place in the 1973 FI Drivers Championship; a 1968 McLaren M4A; the 1959 Old Teller 11 Buick 5pecial; and the 1968 Begg Daimler racing car. "These entries will certainly make the 50 mile Tasman Revival race particularly competitive," Addison said.

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Is your mouth-watering yet? The 2006 Tasman Revival at Eastern Creek will feature such cars as Denny Hulme's 1973 McLaren M23, main pic, Jackie Stewart’s Tyrell 004, far above, and the prototype to the 1967 World Championship-winning Brabham BT24.

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NATIONAL SCENE

Oh whata feeling DAVID Sera and Kel Treseder won the most valuable prizes of their karting careers at Puckapunyal's Leopard final earlier this month, with each driver taking home a new Toyota Yaris for their victories in Leopard Light and Heavy respectively. Drivers qualified for the national final via state-based series, ensuring a top-level field. "It's definitely one of the best wins of my life,"Sera said. "It was an awesome field of drivers." Pipped by Jace Lindstrom in qualifying. Sera (Arrow) ran at the front all meeting. After establishing an early break in the final, he took a 2,8s victory ahead

of National champ Matt Wall (Arrow) and Jason Hryniuk (CRG). Jeremey Anderson drew first blood in Heavy, qualifying fastest and winning the heat races,Then it was Michael Griffiths(Monaco) who threw out the challenge, winning the pre-final and leading much of the final. Treseder (Arrow) was caught up in an early battle but chipped away at Griffiths's lead before the Melbourne driver was forced to retire with a cracked exhaust. Tasmanian Ben Walter (Arrow) was second ahead of WA's Leigh Boujos. National champion Rick Pringle was fourth. -MARK WICKS

State's wrap-up series JASON Burns was crowned the overall NSW Premier State Cup series champion for senior drivers after scoring yet another victory at the series'final round at Oran Park. Burns (Redspeed) beat home competitive veteran Mick Robson (Arrow) and Daniel Erickson in the Clubman Light class. For the junior categories. Rookie driver Christopher Hays was awarded the overall series Champion title. Jason Hryniuk topped scored two ciasses - Clubman Heavy and Rotax Light, on the day James Kovacic did similar in Junior Clubman and Junior National Light. Tom Williamson, NicholasTanti and Daniel Stein all captured their series wins with final round victories in Rotax Heavy, Junior National Heavy and TaG Medium respectively. THE sixth and final round of the Vic Country Series ran at Cobden, 153 entries closing out what has been a pretty strong series all year. After the passing of his father the weekend prior, Nick Gottlewski wore special'308' number plates at Cobden and took them to victory in Rotax Light to easily take the title, pictured above. Gottlewski was also runner-up to David Schulz in Clubman Light, 5457 points to 5427 - the closest margin in the series. Corey McCullagh's Junior

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Hyper expandsfor'07 HYPERRACER has announced an extended driver line-up for the 2007 superkart season. HyperRacer's Dean Crooke will be joined by sprint karters Matthew Hayes and Sean Whitfield. Hayes will contest the 180kg Rotax MAX division while Whitfield will race in Juniors - but he'll have to wait until May when he turns 12. -MARK WICKS

National Heavy victory gave him a narrow series win over Scott Dillon. Despite not winning a round, Craig Arnett collected the necessary points in Clubman Heavy. Billy Carroll and Cameron Waters clinched the Midget and Rookies titles having been the class performers all year. THE little Barossa Valley track rumbled into action on a humid Saturday afternoon as South Australian karters diced for Festival State Cup honours. Scott Kissock was the stand out junior driver taking out Junior National Heavy and Junior Clubman plus third overall in Junior National Light. Michael Cross picked up two series wins (Clubman Medium and Clubman Heavy), while Keke Falland won the Senior National Heavy. Others to enjoy series success were Ethan Hussein (Rookies), Jordan Dickens (Midgets), Craig Denton (Clubman Super Heavy) and Darryl Tolmer(Over 40s). -MARK WICKS

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There's nothing better than the sound of a bunch of Formula 5000 cars thundering around a race track ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN and that's exactly what happened at Sandown a fortnight ago IT'S quite fitting that.Just a few weeks go, ABC2 replayed the 1978 Australian Grand Prixfrom Sandown. If you've never seen the race, Graham McRae basically brained the field in an odd-looking see-through McRaeChevrolet. He even took the time to spin on his way to victory - that's how far ahead of the pack he was. Anyway, it was a splendid case of deja vu when 17 F5000 cars took to Sandown International Motor Raceway as part of the Return of the Thunder meeting a fortnight ago. In terms of the big-bangers, the event was a trans-Tasman affair, with a host of New Zealand based cars coming to play. And they were quick, with Ian Clements taking pole aboard his LolaT332. He couldn't hold on to the lead in the first race, however, with local Andrew Robson taking his likeT332 to 72

a 0.3s victory over Clements.The New Zealander got revenge on the Sunday, taking two victories ahead of the fellow NZ entry of Murray Sinclair. The other big taling point was the Group A and CTouring Cars.There was a bunch of instantly recognisable cars in the field, with David Hole getting the best of them in the GIO VL Commodore. He won all three races from pole.' Formula Ford honours were split between the Reynards of Nick Lubransky and Jonathon Miles, with Miles splitting Lubransky's two race wins with victory in the second. The Halt RT4 of Sean Whelan was just too good in the Group M,0,Q & R racing car class, while Ian Ross and Max Warwick dominated the sports car class. Group N honours went to Tony Hubbard, while Keith Simpson was on top on the Groups J & K class.

Hot Goss:John Goss gave his old Jag a work-out during the weekend.

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NATIONAL SCENE

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Raw grunt: Andrew Robson won the first of the F5000 races in his big Lola, main pic. Meanwhile,David Hole, above,led the way for the tin-tops. Ian Ross kept the S-litre winning tradition alive in the Repco Brabham Sportscar,left.

Miles and miles; Jon Miles, below left, shared Formula Ford honours, while Ian Clements made the most ofthe trip from NZ to win two F5000 races, below. There were two eras of Touring Cars present, as illustrated by Jervis Ward's Mustang,far bottom left, and Terry Ashwood's Skyline,far bottom.

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Masters ofthe night

WA's best drivers raced under lights at the SmokeFree WA Night Masters at Barbagallo Raceway last weekend. Kerry Wade's RX7 was conspicuously absent from the Street Cars Category, leaving Troy Stones to dominate three of the four races, securing a win of 16 points over second placed Evan MacRae. Mark Greenham was an early contender, but being unable to finish the last two races of the series saw him relegated to sixth place. Colin Harper in his Mitsubishi Mirage won the Improved Production Cars category despite finishing second to Garry Hasler in the first three races. Harper was the only driver in his category to finish the final race, grabbing himself enough points to take the overall win. The Sports Sedans saw a close battle between Nathan Vince's Falcon and Shane Jordan's Porsche 928 GTS.They traded wins in two races, but Vince was unable to finish two races and Jordan earned an easy overall win. Historic Racing/Sports Cars and Formula Fords raced together on the weekend, with Michael Henderson absolutely blitzing the field in his beautifully turned out Ralt RT4, winning by nearly

30s in Race Tin the Formula Ford category, it was lights-to-flag victories all the way for James Straker, who won all three races. Adrian Corp was chasing him all day, closing the gap a little more with every race but not quite able to overtake him. The Saloon Cars were hotly conested, with Wade and Clint Harvey battling it out in a series of close finishes. Wade won the first three races, but Harvey was finally able to beat him to the checkered flag in the fourth and final race. Grant Johnson made a sudden resurgence in race 3, nearly catching front runners Wade and Harvey, but it was consistent results from Nathan Callaghan in all four races that saw him take

THE final Top Gear Classic meeting of the season was held at Queensland Raceway last weekend. With the Mazda MX5 Cup down on numbers,they joined the Sports Car field, where Chris Johnston took a pair of wins with Cameron Maxwell and Tony Saint collecting one each. David Gainer was the pick of the MXSs,taking three of the four wins with Nick Leontsinis winning the last after taking three second places. The Sedan races was marred by Brian Smallwood crashing his WRX at turn 3. Stuart Maxwell took four wins ahead of John Duel and Paul Chapman. Bill Norman led home Andrew Hagen in the Racing Cars with Barry Elbourne, Peter Brown and Terry Robertson sharing the minors. Craig Heufel took three of the four Superkart victories, trading places with Bodine Antrobus. Brian Wild took four thirds. -MARK JONES

Fitting final at Winton

The best by Farr

NEIL Farr backed up his 2005 win to take out the 2006 Noosa Historic Hillclimb with a record time of 54.21s in his Bowin-Hay P6, above. To add to the excitement, there were two rollovers and three concrete barrier touch-ups before lunch on Saturday. Barry Singleton in his March 77B did some real damage on his sighting run. So too did

third place overall. Grant Hewlett and Jeff Watts were closely matched in the HQ Holdens category, chalking up one win each out of the three races. A better result over Watts in Race 2 meant that Hewlett was able to take overall victory by two points, although Robina Dill and David Turner beat both of them after a reverse grid start. Greg Barr had Garry Edwards on his heels in all four Historic Touring Car and Production Sports Cars races, while the rest of the field tussled it out for the minor placings. Barr's Torana proved consistently too good for Edwards's BMW,and he was able to take the overall win. - JAMES HUMPSTON

Top Gear wraps up

Nigel Chilton in a Porsche 914, with a 360 degree rollover after clipping an embankment. Jill Nelson, sharing a restored 1967 Cooper S with husband Ken, put it on its roof after clipping the concrete barrier. Alan Me Connell on his first visit to the mount was impressive to take second, only 0.1 s off the new record. -MARSHALL CASS

WINTON Raceway hosted the final round of the Victorian Motor Racing Championship two weeks ago. Over 2-litres ended their year with a surprise round victor in Karl Wittick, driving a 1971 Ford Falcon GT. His best finishing position from five races was fifth placing, however Wittick was the only driver to finish all five races and thus won the round from Garry Stevens and Harry Withem. Mario Gaffiero won all five HQ races. A 14s victory in a 10-lap race showed how dominate Gaffiero was throughout the weekend. Glen McDonald finished second in all five races and Brendan Avard picked up third overall after a string of podium finishes. Robert Lange bounded to an early lead in the one-hour Porsche 944 endurance race - a lead he would never lose. Brent Rose

recovered well from the rear of the grid to finish second, albeit 30s adrift from Lange. Richard Howe held down third place for the majority of the race, while six drivers finished on the lead lap, Michael Cullinan the last of those. Under 2-litre competitor Brendan Woods claimed the round win after four wins from five starts. John Camm ended second overall despite a 5s penalty in the last race for failing to come to a complete stop during his pit-stop. Jamie Augustine was third overall after several strong performances. Two points separated the top three BMW E30 drivers after their five races. Chris Stillwell won the round from Nathan Geier and Neil Anderson. Stillwell won the opening two races on the Saturday with Geier winning two on Sunday. - AARON SHAW

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NATIONAL SCENE

Porsdies dominate Classic Adelaide SOUTH Australia came alive to the sights and sounds of some of the world's finest machinery with the running of the Classic Adelaide Rally. The event was run and celebrated as a special landmark occasion, as event organisers and the capacity field of 350 spread over four categories celebrated its 10 year anniversary. The competition category proved a close affair over the majority of the four days with the Porches of Rex Broadbent/Michael Goedheer(911 RS), Jim Richards/Barry Oliver (944)

and NickStreckeisen/Mike Dale (P944) occupying the top of the time sheets. At the completion of the event the team of Broadbent/Goedheer stood at the top of the victory dais ahead of Streckeisen/ Dale and Richards/Oliver. Saloon Car competitor Roger Patterson and Paul Whatnell completed the quartet of Porsches. TheTriumphTR7 of Ian Wilson and Lee Darren was next, and rounding out the top six was Mark and Rosina Laiicke. PARIS CHARLES

Stubbertakes title

i GRAHAM Alexander scoredi his second consecutive Australian PerfopifianceCaii ! Championship round win pn I the trot at Symmons Plains a I fotnightago^ I Alexander made the most of I Sunday’s slippery conditions ; win iRace 2and finish second' i in Race 3, giving him the roundl ; honours. "It's great.to win a round I again so soon. Until Maliaia I last Septemberfhadh't won a

round since 2003 and now it's twoin a row,"said Alexander. IDeanLillie iiooked on fora;

| 1

.good weekend'after winning. -j theopeningiirace in his HSV GTS. | we was leading the second iraee j before mechanical probiems f0rGedihim .to.ipit oh the lastllapi ,n Race 3 winnerPeanCraipp . „ inished second fortheirpun^, n - ] ahead of Lillie. ' '! Points: BetieLynton3S6.S,Peterfloyd 340,Barry Moreotm 340,Garry Holt325, time 282.5.

PAUL Stubber has rounded out a stellar year in the Biante Historic Touring Car Series by wrapping up the Championship at the penultimate round at Symmons Plains a fortnight ago. The West Australian dominated proceedings in his big Camaro,taking a comfortable victory ahead of Gavin Bullas and Alastair McLean.One driver to not make the finish of Race 1 was V8 Supercar team boss Garry Rogers, who sustained heavy damage to the front of his Monaro,pictured right. Stubber was on course for another win in Race 2, however contact with the wall byTassie local Brendon Diprose on Lap 4 led to the race being red-flagged. Without sufficient laps having been completed,the race was

deemed a non-event. McLean made the most of the race three start,jumping into the lead ahead of Stubber. He managed to old off the big Camaro for several laps before spinning, gifting the lead and the race win to Stubber. That final race win enabled Stubber to claim the title with a round to spare. Points;Stubber 275,Steve Mason 167, Gavin Bullas 165,Trevor Talbot 138, Eddie Albenica 144.

Tassie Hat-trick DAMIEN Wickham took a trio of wins away from the HQ support races at Symmons Plains a fortnight ago. Wickham was totally dominated, topping every session. Noei Clark was the next best with two seconds and a third, while Dallas Crane finished with two thirds and a second. www.tnnews.com.au

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RACE SHOP

IiliPP®

PUMA PROWL INTO REVOLUTION! Building upon its motorsport heritage and true design-driven philosophy, Puma introduces its new state of the art Light Cat Race Suit. The Puma Light Cat race suit utilises revolutionary advancements in material and design to fulfil the demands and requirements at the highest professional level.The new 3-layer lightweight and more breathable 100% Nomex 111 material, coupled with a more ergonomically cut body design, offers increased driver comfort and safety. The pre-shaped sleeves offer extended movement and agility and create more freedom in the driving position. The system of elasticised panels at the back of the arms, replacing soft knit gussets, forward side seam positioning reduces weight and bulk in the upper arms/chest region, vastly improving air flow and cooling agility thus optimising the use and acceptance of a HANS device. The Puma range of FIA approved racing apparel has become a leading brand world wide. Puma is the chosen apparel supplier to Ferrari, Williams and Renault FI teams. Ford and Citroen WRC teams and a number of Champ Car, DTM, IRL, Champ Car and Porsche teams. The Puma Light Cat Race Suits are available in blue/white-grey, black/grey-white, grey/ white-black, white/grey-grey, body colour/ side-stripe colours. The Puma range, now available at any of the 15 Revolution Racegear outlets nationwide. Call 1800 804 778 (toll free) or go to www. revolutionracegear.com.au for details of your nearest Revolution outlet.

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i ilihe'unique pints will also.be available at ; Rebel Sports stores and '3 mobile' stores. I The RFIDS Is one of Austpalia's oldest : and most respeGtedi ! chanties. Last year alone the Flying Doctors helped'over ; 234,000 people across ; Australia^ ■ It costs the RF.DS over I $8 million to purchase ; and medically‘fitTOUt-«». I a new plane, and with no regulargovernment I funding for capital

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CLASSIFIEDS

RACE AND PERFORMANCE CLASSIFIEDS

/ / /Ay^juxzA^mTn online classifieds

Brabam BT 18 Historic Group O Steel twin cam. Very original car, still has

Find hundreds more race vehicles and parts for sale at www.my105.com

original rod ends etc. Motor just rebuilt, new inserts, valves etc. Raced once in 1966 then

Transporters/Trailers

garaged for 20 yrs. Has done Aust. Historic racing only. $110,000. Phone Peter or Jamie Lamer (03) 9439 8986, M,0419 379 024.

www.my105.com/36726

Transporter FULLY ENCLOSED TRI-AXLE RACE TRAILER Fully lined; wired 24 & 12v fully lit, electric

Mazda transporter full restoration 383 chev 450 hp brand new 5 speed with spliter 16 lockable storage bins, duel annexes ,weight upgraded,sleeper above cabin,fits two small

arm and park leg, kitchenette, cupboard

cars, fully mod plated professionally finished off. $50000 ONO.0755947900 / 0419714310.

space & forward living area, secure external

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loading winch, super strong chassis - towing

Ralt rt4

FORMULA FORD SPECTRUM 011 2006

ItHs £1^ has last racedin 1985=and has beenlovingly I,in4miraJC con.

Excellent condition ready to race in 07

buu^ work

Australian Championship. Maintained by Borland Racing Developments. 3 sets of

the BffH Quginat U4 '$ caltEdois investment SiTOJO Not oeg.041282 3442.

lockers, electric brakes, internal storage, any

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size race or drag car. $33,000.00, Josh 0439

333

731 695.info@bcglaw.com.

www.myl05.com/72855

wheels, spare body parts, full gear ratios, motec data logger. Available after Phillip Island in December. $70,000 neg. Contact Frank 0407 465 278.

www.myl05.eom/63805

350

\ F250WITH GOOSENECKTRAILER

SPIRIT WL06 prep'd by Anglo Motorsport & Mid Coast

sedan, all you need, work benches, vice,

Ford Racing. Ohiins shocks, AIM dash with all

bench grinder, 240 generator, tyre racks independant suspension, commercial split

logging sensors,2 sets performance wheels &

Suit single axle or bogey prime mover.7 tonne

toilet. Call for full inventory.$155000.00. RUSS 0408793695 / 0754492860.

tare weight newish tyres & brakes inc servos, re-painted in 05. Holds 2 x VS Commodore

Mid Coast Ford Racing National f'ford car

extras, warrenty Inc. 38ft trailer, a/c, living quarters, carries 2 open wheel cars or 1

35ft Single Axle 2-Car Pantech

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350

Cup cars & plenty of storage. Front lounge

351

Wanted

F250 V8 diesel 4x4 auto fully loaded with

rims & truck tyres, checker plate floor, 240 & 12v power, electric landing legs, shower and

350

spares package. Race engine in car + brand new spare engine complete ready to race Top 5 front running national race car. best presented car QLD raceway, Oran Park 06

Formula Holden or F4000 Gearbox Wanted Formula Holden or F4000 hatch pattern gearbox. Gregg 0428 745 651.

www.myl05.com/96762

350

Karts For Sale

POA, Wally 0419993155.Joel 0408523151.

www.myl05.com/39366

350

area with electronics. 240v wiring, lighting & power-points plus RCD protection. 4-wheel dolly allows movement around yard $25,000 Neg. David Gittus (0418) 353-524.

www.myl05.eom/36061

350

Van Diemen RF03

Monaco GP4 with J engine

For Sale Van Diemen RF03 EX Sonic 04 David

Enclosed Trailer

Reynolds National Championship Winning

Fully imported hardly used, torflex axles, 4

F’Ford fully rebuilt buy Sonic Motor Racing Services at end of 05 done 4 races since, with

wheel electric brakes, breakaway, inside is iined, retractable water proof sun shade, rear jacks, lights in side. 12,000.00 Or best offer. 0438217334.

www.myl05.eom/5650

Open Wheelers

Isuzu Race Transporter

'86 FSR/ 6 cylinder/ 6 speed/ 22ft pantech/ 500kg tuckaway tailgate/ large fuel tank/ drivers air seat/ storage or bed behind/ cd

350

3sn

$78,000 ONO. Garry 0413 879 879.

www.myl05.com/11740 www.mnews.com.au

350

aids, including Hot-Rods,5 axles.Too much to list, inquire for more info. $3,200 Neg,Andrew 0407 649 671.

www.myl05.com/86247

350

* Vandieman RF98

83'ELWYN 004 FFord with "State spec" Lamer engine, spare set of 4 x Performance

floor, brake discs, crown wheel & pinion and

alloy wheels/tyres, gear ratios, spare nose & wishbones, mould etc and was 4th o'right

g'box rebuild. Spares,suspension arms,3 sets of wheels, 1 spare radiator, several pairs of

last start with "very big" driver. All set up info & CAMS Cof D with historic log book, (Also

springs, leads, coil, carby float, nose cone, 4

available spare"new"complete Lamer engine extra $5,800 FIRM or will sell separately) For

sets good tyres, work stands, also fitted with motec dash & data system. Gear ratios for most aust tracks. $40,000, Stephen 0407 417 954/(02)9858 2712.

Silverado and Daytona Trailer

engine POA Contact Colin 0415286986.

Maintained by Hagen Motorsport, comes with setup advice, spares & numerous setup

1983 ELWYN 004 FFord

3rd in 2006 NSW State Champ. Winner of final round, rebuilt at start of 06' inc new

www.myl05.com/21765

of wheels spare panels all pit equipment full set up history can updated to national spec

www.myl 05.com/58006

maintained truck, perfect as race hauler/ $12950/ph.0416194763.

ADL with Full logging full set of ratios 3 sets

player/ pwr steering/ belly lockers/ would fit commodore/falcon sized vehicles / reg. just out/ not currently setup, clean, well

2 factory Kent Ritter Race engines Motec

Monaco GP4 with Yamaha lOOJ. 6th SNH 04 Nat Titles, many podiums at state titles, class and overall senior champion Gold Coast Kart Club 2003, Little use since move to F'Ford,

www.myl05.com/86827

350

the lot $36,000 or $31,000 without spare engine. Robert Tweeddie (02) 9817 5654 or ibcholdings@bigpond.com

www.myl05.com/86665

350

3 Karts, 2xTrailer + Spares 1 X Arrox AX8, Rolling Chassis,6 meetings old. Great condition - 2 x Swiss Hutless EVO 28, Rolling Chassis,Excellent condition - Dual Kart Trailer,9 months RegoTyre racks, lots of room for spares - 2 X Van Shaik KTl OOS 1 x Lyndsay KTIOOS - Quickshade - Call for complete spares listing. Will do package deals, POA. Shane 0413 991 108/(02)9671 7898. 350 www.myl05.eom/35980

RACE AND PERFORMANCE CLASSIFIEDS / / /

online classifieds

Find hundreds more race vehicles and parts for sale at www.my105.com

SELL yow^^rts,

motorsport vehicle or anything to do with motorsport via our internet classified

Ford Falcon XR8

|T\-

fiartners my 10S.cqm or as little as $3Sr Yes,3 months on myl05.com, plus an insertion here in MNews, all for as Me as $35.

car was Qtuiid astdght in the 2680 It tasSags wheels, Bllstlen sbei^ and ihg s^ngs wiibgjdJus^g£|affeBas, MSE data loggei, ^ twapr Mini^sh , b^ded lines, momo wh^l. rn^i±tag into 5 point [1^ &lts.tSgiQ a SBB88.S)d^lO.Mm

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Currently leading Over 3 Litre SA State Championship.lOth at '06 Clipsal, Won '04 Vic series. Runner up'03. New 289(dyno sheets). Spare Close ratio Top Loader,2 pairs new rotors.12 wheels-4 Dunlop wets, 4 xl meeting old Yokohama's,4x4 meeting Yokohama's. Loads of other spares. 1:20.4 Mallala. $65,000.00 inc trailer Not Neg. Lyn 0417826284.

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I Clubman Race Car

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AU V8 Supercar

New Fisher Fury- Spyder Race Car, IRS chassis, body, suspension. Toyota 4AGE eng race cams, solid f'wheel, ceramic button clutch, 3 pump dry sump system, uprated Type 9 gearbox, 4.1-1 LSD IRS diff ventilated discs 4 Pot Wilwood Calipers, 2 sets of 7-1/2 in. wheels & tyres, Spax adj coils over shock absorbers, ally race seat & 4 point harness, full ally skinned flat bottom. Frank Jenkins. $25000 Neg.0407282417 / 02 47741621.

Adam Sharpe Motorsport offers for sale its Au Falcon Supercar no.44,comes with extensive spares 16 wheels, spare panels etc. Engine 200 km since full rebuild Ideal entry level Fujitsu car. Can assist new owner with advice or full preparation and trackside service call Darrell on 02 4578 3434 or 0409 785 114. $97,000 + GST Neg.

For sale or lease If your looking to get into motor racing this is for you affordable low maintenance and the most fun and competitive your money can buy We have 10 Daewoo Lanos race cars and 3 MG F 160 Trophy Race car for sale or lease on track assistance can be given to purchaser if required PDA Contact Colin 0415 286 986.

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Aussie Race Car Package Aussie racing car with currant log book ready to race comes with fully enclosed trailer. $46000.00. Nugget 0437526275.

Escort Twin Cam

V8 SUPERCAR

Twin cam tarmac rally car. 1600cc. Datsun crank, forged pistons, fresh engine and gearbox, 4.1 Isd, anti dive, panhard bar, alloy cage, race seats, vented discs, well sorted car. ph Colin 0438 441480.$25,000 ONO.

Fujitsu Development Series current specs VX V8 SUPERCAR Perkins Build 036 Fresh Engine Fresh Gearbox Full Spares Package Tools & Accessories to suit this vehicle RO.A Ring Mark Papendell on 0409 846 717.

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Category 3 (3CRCO). Prep'd for Classic Adelaide & East Coast Targa events, successful! Circuit racer. Recent work by John Milan includes engine o'haul carbi rejetting front SUSP o'haul steering box o'haul dyno tune full rewire brake o'haul Done 1.14's Wakefield , 53's 0/Park Short, 1.26 0/Park GP, Budget priced competitive car for racing, rallying, supersprints etc. Joe on 02 43936666 after 6 pm,$13500 Or Best Offer,

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Ran targa in 1998, 1999 and 2000 worked motor, brake and suspention conversion, half cage , 505 nm of torque. $12000 Neg. Neil 0414 321 913.

Rare and competitive car,twin plug head,best of everything, new motor and suspension $85,000.00. Guy (07) 3343 1566,

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Ford Laser Improved Production 1981 Ford Laser Improved Production car. Twin Carbs setup for AVGAS, Alloy fuel cell, near new 5 point harness. Great entry level car into U1600 division, with assorted spares and setup advice. Koni coil over shocks, upgraded to disc brakes. Engine highly modified fi:can accept turbo. Selling due to F' Ford commitments,cheap to maintain & very reliable. $3,900 Neg. Andrew 0407 649 671.

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'377777 ornTirTe classifieds Find hundreds more race vehicles and parts for sale at www.my105.com FORD FALCON AU V8SUPERCAR

Ultima Spyder Ultima factory built (UK) for Dick Johnson Racing. NSW Rego & full compliance. See www.ultimasports.co.uk for detailed information. SOOOkms since new. Ford 302w SVO motor with alloy heads and 250Kw. Porsche G50 close ratio g/box. Rose jointed fully adjustable suspension with InTrax shocks. $93,000 Or Best Offer. Andy 02 62923042/0431 482248.

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PWR vSsupercar chassis pwr 03 built 2000. Comes with all pit gear required to run the car including fuel rig and boom, and servicing tools. Has very recently had a full strip down and crack test. Huge spares package will be included, must be sold Car is presently in NZ but ready to ship. Contact Warren Davis on 0414 646 873 or e-mail wj_davis2003(5)yahoo.com.au for any inquirey. $95,000.

Sport Sedan-(NZ OSCA) A true 600 RWHP sports sedan with all the best gear. We have done all the hard work. Currently fastest (SI) OSCA car. We have a new business that needs our time so it has to go. check out www.osca.co.nz $60,000 Neg. (Vlatthew021 359 359.

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V8 SUPERCAR-$95,000 Bargain V8 Supercar - Must Sell - $95,000 - Bargain!! Current FUJITSU V8 (Konica) Competitor. Ex-Dick Johnson Racing, Owen Kelly. AU Falcon with best of everything. Strong competitive car & engine.Good handling. Priced for quick sale with all spares, rattle guns etc. Greg Smith Ph: 0411 724 711, email: gsm86@bigpond.net.au. $95,000 Neg. Greg Smith 0411 724 711.

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1974 Haggis U2 Clubman Cleaver racecar engineering, with historic log book and C of D. wide range of spares inc. body moulds, susp jigs & spare set of wheels,fully restored in 04. also custom built fully enclosed trailer, can compete at state series race meetings. On display at Sandown Historic 11-12/11/06, & Eastern Creek Historic 1-3/12/06. Will deliver complete package at no cost to, NSW, QLD or VIC. All enquiries call Lloyd on 0246308200, Ray 0409673706. $29,500 Neg.

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RX7 GROUP C - B F GOODRICH B F Goodrich RX7 Group C Mazda. Ex-Gerry Bruges/Lynn Brown. Ran '82,'83 Bathurst on radials (only car). Ready to race, with COD, historic log books. All enquiries welcome. POA.Jack 0417253118.

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Group C Gemini

EVO 8 Race winning car EVO 8 Race winning car. Get ready for Bathurst 12hr or GTP 2007 series. V8 Super car support and Channel 7 TV. Many extras. Cali Garry 0413 879 879.

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Isuzu Group C Gemini ex Terry Finnigan Bathurst Class winner 1980. Immaculately restored. Professionally race prepared, ready to race. 15 x Wheels & vast spares included. No expense spared. Believed to be sole surviving 1600cc Bathurst Class winning car Sf sold with full documented history and certificate of description. Realistically priced AUD $32,500 for this appreciating asset. Happy to answer any genuine queries. Michael 0433 112 599.

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Commodore Cup VS Built 2004 - ChroMoly engineered cage. Fresh 2 meetings old Tate engine - 335hp/ 300 ft/ lbs PPG Dog-Box new for 06 season. New light-weight MSF lightweight 31-spline diff (3.70 & 3.45 ratios).85mm Race Radiators. AIM MXL Dashboard & Data Logger with beacon, analysis software plus 2 years data from all circuits. Spares: 2 x polished wheels, power steering rack, set sway-bars, wheel bearings, suspension bushes & suspension arms. $45,000 Neg. David Gittus (0418)353-524.

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Mazda MX5 car for racing. Imported from Japan, Low Kim's, perfect for reliable budget racing and/or supersprints. Standard car with no mods. Great value, $6500 Neg. CHRIS 02 43889059.

Clubman Road/Race Car

Mustang Race Car 1964 Nb Logbook Ex Condition, Left Hand Drive New roller engine over 400 H.P Twin plate button clutch Toploader 9"31 spline diff Moser axles Alloy Roll cage Kelsey Hayes 4 spot calipers Koni shocks Very competitive & reliable car Numerous class wins Can be seen racing at Eastern Creek Tasman Revival Meeting 1st 2nd - 3rd December 2006 $50,000 QLD Ph: 0411 755 377,0733926699.

Road Reg'd Clubman-Unique. British Racing Green, black carpet, white faced instruments, tornea, roll bar, suit hill climbs, supersprints, trackdays. Escort front struts & rear axle, Spax adjustable shocks, Minilite 15 inch, fully engineered & meets latest emmission std's.. Kits available to build your own road/ race car. $27,500 Best Offer. Stewart Brown/ Frank Jenkins 0417320007, 0407282417 / 0247741606,0247741621.

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Lotus Exige for sale Lotus Exige 2005 ex Lotus Trophy series, completly rebuilt & come with LSD, spare gearbox, shocks & all ext/int parts to return to road car. Is registered in NSW through to 06/07. Eligible for 12hr, great Targa or Production Sports car. Contact Garry 0407 272 165. $70,000.00.

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64 Mustang Race Car

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MAZDA MX5 RACE CAR

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AU V8 supercar ex brad jones racing oze mail complete car with some spares will trade formula ford or open wheeler +$. fast falcon has all late running gear must sell phone shane on 0428461887. poa.

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Engines GTS CUP CAR

Cosworth BDD 1600

GT3 CUP CAR FOR SALE. Black 02 with 04

New 82.5 pistons, fresh block, new valves. Very good engine. Complete less Carbys $24,000 with brand new 48's $25,5000.Phone Peter or Jamie Lamer (03)9439 8986 M.0419 379 024,

updates. Rebuilt early 06, meticulously maintained with no expense spared. Front running GT car $110,000 + GST. James 0409 036 911.

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TALK CONVERTER

his team-mate who slowed down to let him come out In the lead.

Cop an earful Mark Webber's comparison of Michael Schumacher at Monaco B Editorial Editor: Phil Branagan

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In comparison, Craig Lowndes has proven to be a winner, with

'06 to Mike Tyson's ear nibble may not be as silly as It initially sounds. I happened to be about 50 metres away at Rocher during Saturday qualifying and am reminded by Webber's comments how demeaning and flat-out weird Schu's effort was, which looked even worse up close than it did on TV. First a little forced understeer to the right-hand apex so that when he jumped on the gas hard the thing would spin like a top without hitting anything.Then frustrated by the car's electronics doing such a superb Job,the world's greatest driver over the past decade found himself embarrassingly still pointed in the right direction, implausibly wiggling to the left before gracefully angle-parking 10cm short of the outside barrier. It is easy to see how this incident tipped many of Schumacher's fellow FI drivers into the against column. For all his well demonstrated greatness, the man has a Tysonesque brain short-circuit that seems to derive from his being simply over competitive when under intense pressure. Apparently a reasonable sort of human being out of the car, he at times made instinctive split second decisions guided by a vision in which the rest of the world and all those In it fade away and there is just Schumacher. Stewart Page Beijing, China Coming from behind ... It's been a bad year. First Schu blew up in Japan, giving the title to Alonso; then Rossi fell off, handing the title to Hayden; and now it looks like

four round wins to go with his four race wins. At least Russell

Send us ygurtfiouglits: PO Box 7072, Brighton> WIG,3186 mnews@mnews.com:au

Lowndes is going to grab defeat from the jaws of victory. The first two I can live with, but as a Ford fan, a Flolden victory will really hurt. But if the unthinkable happens I will get over it and move on with my life. I suggest that a lot of your letter writers get a life and stop whingeing about Holden this, Walkinshaw that - as far as I am concerned,the rules allow this, so it's OK. I have heard it suggested that for future endurance races that all regular drivers would have to have a non-regular co-driver. This would be great as it would double the number of competitive cars and get rid of the B-team cars that just circulate. I would also like to thank Channel Ten for helping build the sport to where it is today. Alex Yule alexyule@bigpond.com Win, Rick, win. If we're going to end up with Rick ChamKelly as the V8 Supercar pion, it's about time he showed that he is deserving of the title by winning some races and rounds. Out of 11 rounds and 28 races, Rick has only won one race, and that was not on his own merit. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to realise that his one win was gifted to him by his brother and

Ingall had a round win during his championship year. Of course the current point system has a fair bit to do with this situation.Thank goodness that has been addressed for next year where hopefully we will have a champion that has actually won the most races. Come on Rick and show that you would be a worthy champion. You have six races left to earn some respect. Accumulating points without wins will result in a hollow victory. Paul Winter Loxton, SA VSSA's Smart Move The people at V8SA that have initiated a consultancy to look at the future of the Supercar series minus manufacturer support should be congratulated for their forward thinking. Reason being that the managements of both GM and Ford, both here and in Detroit seem to have totally lost contact with what the motoring populace of the 21st century want. Holden spend one thousand three hundred million dollars on reinventing the Commodore and think its great.They then announce that next year they are importing Hummers. Ford spends a reported $50m-i(with State and Federal govt funding) on a turbo Territory that, according to road tests, driven with moderate zest barely covers 400 kms on a tank. And both companies wonder why they are in strife. Jim Thorn jimthorn@bigpond.com

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